Health and environmental hazards posed by high ozone levels. Plans to produce print and video maps of ozone levels for newspapers and television stations. The Division of Air Quality is operating the Triangle Ozone Action Program with the Triangle J Council of Governments. Ozone, a highly reactive form of oxygen, is the primary pollutant in smog. It can be unhealthful to breathe, particularly among children, the elderly and people with asthma or other respiratory problems.
Ozone also can damage plants and reduce crop yields.
The Ozone Action Program aims to curb smog levels through pollution forecasts, media alerts and notifications to participating businesses. Participants voluntarily agree to help reduce emissions of smog-forming pollutants on high ozone days. For instance, participants encourage or offer incentives to their employees to car-pool, ride buses to work, eat lunch at their offices, or take other actions that reduce driving. State air quality officials believe the Ozone Action Program could have been a key factor in limiting smog levels in the Charlotte and Winston-Salem metropolitan areas last summer. Neither city had ozone levels that topped the federal standard in 1997, despite exceedances at several monitoring stations in the state.