Why Surface Ozone Should Be Studied

      Most people think of ozone as a good thing. In the Ozone layer, it protects us from harmful radiation. However, when it exists at the surface, it can be quite hazardous to our health. Surface ozone is made when burnt fossil fuels like gasoline give off oxides of nitrogen and volatile organic compounds and then these compounds react with sunlight. One major source of these compounds is car exhausts. Even at low concentrations, ozone can cause eye and respiratory system damage. Sometimes, the damage is bad enough to kill.
     Oxides of nitrogen are molecules made of nitrogen and oxygen that are formed during combustion. They can also be toxic if they react with water to make nitric acid. Volatile Organic Compounds, or VOCs, are organic chemicals that have a high vapor pressure at ordinary, room-temperature conditions.  An example is formaldehyde, a vapor from paint. VOCs include both human-made and naturally occurring chemical compounds. Many VOCs are not hazardous but there are a few that contribute to making surface ozone and thus, they can be quite hazardous. These VOCs can cause eye, nose, and throat irritation; headaches, loss of coordination, nausea; damage to liver, kidney, and central nervous system. Some are even suspected of contributing to cancer in both animals and humans.

     Surface ozone should be studied because it presents a serious threat to our health. Surface ozone is higher in concentrations in areas where there is a big smog problem, which commonly occurs around larger cities. These larger cities contain much of our population and thus many citizens are at risk. Surface ozone should be studied so that we can work to prevent physical damage from exposure. Exposure to ozone and the pollutants that produce it is linked to premature death, asthma, bronchitis, heart attack, and other cardiopulmonary problems. Smoking tobacco is linked to similar problems and we have studied it, so why should we not study surface ozone?