US EPA Announces More Stringent Ozone Standards

Article by Geoffrey K. Barnes , Allen A. Kacenjar Jr. , Wendlene M. Lavey , Douglas A. McWilliams and Karen A. Winters

On March 13, 2008 US Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) announced new, more stringent national ambient air quality standards (NAAQS) for ozone. The new primary and secondary standards are both set at 0.075 parts per million (ppm) over an eight-hour period. Using 2004-2006 monitoring data, this tightening of the previous 0.084 ppm standard would result in 345 nonattainment counties (see preliminary map). Areas designated nonattainment for ozone will have additional obstacles to permitting new or modified combustion sources and sources using paints, solvents and other volatile organic chemicals as raw materials.