Air quality concerns lead to ozone alert for OKC and Tulsa

An ozone warning was issued for the Oklahoma City and Tulsa metropolitan areas on Friday due to increasing concerns among health and environmental authorities about air quality in conjunction with expected higher temperatures.

The Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality warned that ozone concentrations are likely to rise to levels of concern over the next 24 hours, according to the alert issued Thursday afternoon. The alert was also issued by the Association of Central Oklahoma Governments in Oklahoma City and the Indian Nations Council of Governments in Tulsa.

According to DEQ, the warning means sensitive people should plan accordingly. When these levels are reached, an air quality health alert will be issued. Health alerts are notifications that ozone levels have reached levels that are harmful to health. They are based on near real-time monitoring values.

People with lung or heart disease should be aware that increased levels of air pollution can cause adverse health effects. Ozone affects people differently. Unhealthy levels of ozone can cause throat irritation, coughing, chest pain, shortness of breath, increased susceptibility to respiratory infections, and worsening of asthma and other respiratory diseases. These symptoms are made worse by exercise and heavy activity. Know your limits. Children, older adults, and people with lung diseases such as asthma are particularly at risk of suffering these effects. As ozone levels increase, so do the number of people affected and the severity of health effects.

Here’s how you can prevent ozone formation and reduce your exposure:

• Carpool or take the bus to work or school.
• Take short walks or bike rides in the morning when ozone levels are lower.
• Wait until the evening to fill up your car or mow the lawn.
• Arrive and leave work a little earlier or later than usual to reduce rush hour traffic.
• Drive your vehicle with the lowest fuel consumption.
• Make sure fuel caps on vehicles, lawn mowers and other equipment are properly sealed.
• Trip Chain: Combine errands to make just one trip instead of several.
• Limit the idle time in your vehicle.
• Limit the use of drive-through windows.
• Limit the use of barbecue lighters and other products containing hydrocarbons.
• Postpone normally permitted outdoor burning until a day when an ozone warning is not in effect.
• Limit or postpone the use of two-stroke engines (e.g. lawn mowers, weed killers, motor boats and motorcycles).
• Work from home if possible to reduce traffic and emissions