Mayor Daley was surprised this month when a Reader's Digest study found Chicago the dirtiest big city in America, giving it the lowest marks for air quality.

Do not be surprised tomorrow.

The Air Quality Index for Ozone for Monday, June 27, in Chicago (121) is forecast to be the 2nd worst in the nation (after Susquehanna Valley, PA(127)), and Tuesday won't be any better.

Air Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups

cfpub.epa.gov/airnow/index.cfm


ARE YOU AT RISK FROM GROUND-LEVEL OZONE?

Several groups of people are particularly sensitive to ozone-especially when they are active outdoors-because physical activity causes people to breathe faster and more deeply.

ACTIVE CHILDREN are the group at highest risk from ozone exposure because they often spend a large part of the summer playing outdoors. Children are also more likely to have asthma, which may be aggravated by ozone exposure.

ACTIVE ADULTS of all ages who exercise or work vigorously outdoors have a higher level of exposure to ozone than people who are less active.

PEOPLE with asthma or other respiratory diseases that make the lungs more vulnerable to the effects of ozone will generally experience health effects earlier and at lower ozone levels than less sensitive individuals.

PEOPLE with unusual susceptibility to ozone. Scientists don't yet know why, but some healthy people may experience health effects at more moderate levels of outdoor exertion or at lower ozone levels than the average person.

In general, as concentrations of ground-level ozone increase, more and more people experience health effects, the effects become more serious, and more people are admitted to the hospital for respiratory problems. When ozone levels are very high, everyone should be concerned about ozone exposure.


HOW CAN GROUND-LEVEL OZONE AFFECT YOUR HEALTH?

Ozone can irritate your respiratory system, causing you to start coughing, feel an irritation in your throat and/or experience an uncomfortable sensation in your chest.

Ozone can reduce lung function and make it more difficult for you to breathe as deeply and vigorously as you normally would. When this happens, you may notice that breathing starts to feel uncomfortable. If you are exercising or working outdoors, you may notice that you are taking more rapid and shallow breaths than normal.

Ozone can aggravate asthma. When ozone levels are high, more people with asthma have attacks that require a doctor's attention or the use of additional medication. One reason this happens is that ozone makes people more sensitive to allergens, which are the most common triggers for asthma attacks. Also, asthmatics are more severely affected by the reduced lung function and irritation that ozone causes in the respiratory system.

Ozone can inflame and damage cells that line your lungs. Within a few days, the damaged cells are replaced and the old cells are shed-much in the way your skin peels after a sunburn.

Ozone may aggravate chronic lung diseases such as emphysema and bronchitis and reduce the immune system's ability to fight off bacterial infections in the respiratory system.

Ozone may cause permanent lung damage. Repeated short-term ozone damage to children's developing lungs may lead to reduced lung function in adulthood. In adults, ozone exposure may accelerate the natural decline in lung function that occurs as part of the normal aging process.

ARE THERE ALWAYS SYMPTOMS?

Ozone damage also can occur without any noticeable signs. People who live in areas where ozone levels are frequently high may find that their initial symptoms go away over time-particularly when exposure to high ozone levels continues for several days. Ozone continues to cause lung damage even when the symptoms have disappeared. The best way to protect your health is to find out when ozone levels are elevated in your area and take simple precautions to minimize exposure even when you don't feel obvious symptoms.

HOW CAN YOU AVOID UNHEALTHY EXPOSURE TO OZONE?

Your chances of being affected by ozone increase the longer you are active outdoors and the more strenuous the activity you engage in. If you're involved in an activity that requires heavy exertion, you can reduce the time you spend on this activity or substitute another activity that requires more moderate exertion (e.g., go for a walk rather than a jog). In addition, you can plan outdoor activities when ozone levels are lower, usually in the morning or evening.

Examples of activities that involve moderate exertion include climbing stairs, playing tennis or baseball, simple garden or construction work, and light jogging, cycling, or hiking. Activities that involve heavy exertion include playing basketball or soccer, chopping wood, heavy manual labor, and vigorous running, cycling, or hiking. Because fitness levels vary widely among individuals, what is moderate exertion for one person may be heavy exertion for another. No matter how fit you are, cutting back on the level or duration of exertion when ozone levels are high will help protect you from ozone's harmful effects.

OZONE

Ozone is a gas composed of three atoms of oxygen. Ozone occurs both in the Earth's upper atmosphere and at ground level. Ozone can be good or bad, depending on where it is found:

Good Ozone.
Ozone occurs naturally in the Earth's upper atmosphere-6 to 30 miles above the Earth's surface-where it forms a protective layer that shields us from the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. This beneficial ozone is gradually being destroyed by manmade chemicals. An area where the protective "ozone layer" has been significantly depleted-for example, over the North or South pole-is sometimes called "the ozone hole."

Bad Ozone.
In the Earth's lower atmosphere, near ground level, ozone is formed when pollutants emitted by cars, power plants, industrial boilers, refineries, chemical plants, and other sources react chemically in the presence of sunlight. Ozone at ground level is a harmful air pollutant.

AIR QUALITY INDEX

The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health effects might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health effects you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air. EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act: ground-level ozone, particle pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health.

The AQI reports actual levels of ozone and other common pollutants in the air. The higher the AQI value, the greater the health concern.

Think of the AQI as a yardstick that runs from 0 to 500. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 represents good air quality with little potential to affect public health, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.

The purpose of the AQI is to help you understand what local air quality means to your health.

Air Quality Index (color code):

0 to 50 Good Green
"Good" The AQI value for your community is between 0 and 50. Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk.

51 to 100 Moderate Yellow
"Moderate" The AQI for your community is between 51 and 100. Air quality is acceptable; however, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people. For example, people who are unusually sensitive to ozone may experience respiratory symptoms. Unusually sensitive people should consider limiting prolonged outdoor exertion.

101 to 150 Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Orange
When AQI values are between 101 and 150, members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. This means they are likely to be affected at lower levels than the general public. For example, people with lung disease are at greater risk from exposure to ozone, while people with either lung disease or heart disease are at greater risk from exposure to particle pollution. The general public is not likely to be affected when the AQI is in this range. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion at this level.

151 to 200 Unhealthy Red
"Unhealthy" Everyone may begin to experience health effects when AQI values are between 151 and 200. Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects.

201 to 300 Very Unhealthy Purple
Triggers a health alert, meaning everyone may experience more serious health effects. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should avoid all outdoor exertion; everyone else, especially children, should limit outdoor exertion.

301 to 500 Hazardous Maroon
Triggers health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected.

The grandfathered coal-fired power plants in Chicago, the Crawford Plant in Little Village and the Fisk Plant in Pilsen, continue under Daley, Blagojevich and Bush, to profitably pollute and remain the biggest single sources of gases contributing to dangerous ozone operating in the city.

TAKE ACTION

Help Stop the Mainstream Media Whitewash, Call NewsRadio78 (where Exelon has been heard to sponsor the weather) and Elsewhere:

Here's what they should report:

The EPA Air Quality Index today is forecast for 121. This air is unhealthy due to ozone. Hot, sunny weather and stagnant air is causing ozone in Chicago to rise to unhealthy levels. Active children and adults, and people with respiratory disease, such as asthma, should limit prolonged outdoor exertion.

Call toll free 1-800-78-4NEWS (1-800-784-6397)
Email: winterj (at) wbbm-am.com,hmarshall (at) cbs.com

Ask your local mainstream media outlet to take an interest in the air and warn of unhealthy conditions.

EXELON, an electricity company with more than $14 billion in annual revenues, announced it will spend no more than $7 million dollars to reduce its millions of metric tons of greenhouse gases it is responsible for, and proud of it. www.knoxstudio.com/shns/story.cfm www.climateark.org/articles/reader.asp