by Commissioner Cook
NOTE: April 9 was the first time this year Commissioner Cook posted her Ozone Action Day signs at the Williamson County Jester Annex in Round Rock as the temperature climbed to 90 degrees.
With spring’s arrival, it’s important to remember ozone season has started and to understand what that means for our community.
Ozone is a form of oxygen with three atoms instead of the usual two.
Stratospheric ozone depletion is a global problem that was addressed through extensive work in this and other countries by banning solvents throughout the world that were believed to have depleted this layer of protection from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet light.
Time will tell if these endeavors were successful. So for now — remember your sunscreen.
The focus of regional air pollution control efforts is to reduce ground-level ozone, also called tropospheric ozone, and the most prevalent regional air pollution in Texas and the nation.
This ozone, the primary constituent of smog, is not emitted directly into the air but is formed through chemical reactions between natural and man-made emissions of volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight.
In Central Texas, high ground-level ozone is driven by nitrogen oxides generated through fossil fuels being burned in vehicles, factories, water heaters and other combustion devices.
As a member of the Central Texas Clean Air Coalition, I’m privileged to participate in develo