Austin seeing higher levels of ground-level ozone

AUSTIN, Texas - The dog days of summer are here, and ‘tis the season for smog.

"Generally when people talk about smog, we're talking about a chemical called ground-level ozone," said Anton Cox, the Air Quality Program Manager at the Austin-based nonprofit Capital Area Council of Governments (CAPCOG).

That’s created when fuel emissions mix with sunlight.

About 50% of those emissions come from vehicle tailpipes, around 30% come from industrial source like power plants and refineries, and the rest comes from things like construction, agriculture equipment and businesses.

"When we're seeing conditions that produce heat and drought, those conditions also favor greater air pollution," said Cox. "We're seeing higher levels of ground level ozone than we have in the past ten years."

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s website has compiled ozone readings from across Texas this summer. Readings in the orange level are considered "unhealthy for sensitive groups", while red means "unhealthy for everyone".

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"Typically, the Austin region won't see days that hit that red range. However, this year we actually have had days that reached that," said Cox.

Dr. Ronald Cox of Greater Austin Allergy says that can translate to breathing problems for many of us.

"If you're feeling things like shortness of breath, chest tightness, coughing, wheezing, difficulty catching your breath, those are all things that you should take seriously and go talk to somebody," said Dr. Cox.

Dr. Cox says over the long term, the ozone can be toxic to the lungs. But there are some things you can do.

"One of the things is make sure that you're taking your asthma medications," said Dr. Cox. "Try to exercise early in the morning or later in the evening, because it's in the middle part of the day where the air quality is worst. So staying indoors during that time and wearing a mask also can be beneficial."

Also helpful are saline irrigation and changing your air conditioning filter.

But we can also reduce our emissions in the first place—by driving less, conserving energy, even conserving water.

"That water needs to be cleaned, it needs to be heated. That generates additional pollution. So even small things like reducing your water usage can have an impact on our local air quality," said Anton Cox.

Air quality levels have actually been good the past few days, but they are likely to get worse as we head through August. For forecasted air quality levels throughout the state, visit the Texas Commission on Air Quality’s website.

For more tips on reducing air pollution and reducing your exposure to it, visit Air Central Texas’ website.