The American Lung Association says El Dorado County's air quality stinks. El Dorado was one of 33 California counties to receive a failing grade in a recently released pollution report. Your residents should make sure that air quality is addressed with each land-use plan. But we'll have to look for changes with traffic levels. Motor vehicle emissions are the main cause of ground-level ozone, a corrosive gas triggering the formation of smog through reactions to other chemical agents.
Scientists say the ozone in the stratosphere protects the Earth from ultraviolet light.
Other pollutant sources include power plants and dry cleaners. The federal standard of ozone level is 0.12, while the state's is 0.09. South Lake Tahoe's ozone levels run lower than both standards. The levels tend to roll like the hills, with hot summer days producing more ozone. CARB monitors stations at Echo Summit - a new site as of last year.