spotlight

No. 378 – September 2, 2009

A Decade of Data on Smog

Just the facts
k e y f a c t s : • In 2008 the EPA dramatically tightened its standards
for defining a high ozone day.

• Even under EPA’s more stringent new standard, North Carolina — both as
a whole and within its major regions — has experienced significant reduc-
tions in the number of high ozone days.

• If the current trend continues, 2009 could experience the lowest number of
high ozone days on record.

d
uring the hot summer months of June, July, and August, North Caro-
linians have gotten used to hearing about “ozone alert days” on their
evening and morning radio and television newscasts. The purpose of
these alerts is to warn citizens of a particular region that ground level ozone

for Truth
200 W. Morgan, #200
Raleigh, NC 27601
phone: 919-828-3876
fax: 919-821-5117
www.johnlocke.org
The John Locke Foundation is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit, nonpartisan research
institute dedicated to improving public
policy debate in North Carolina. Viewpoints
expressed by authors do not necessarily
reflect those of the staff or board of
the Locke Foundation.
levels, often referred to as smog, may exceed certain federally determined stan-
dards. These standards relate to atmospheric concentrations of ozone that are
considered more or less safe for certain groups to breathe, usually the elderly,
children, and people with respiratory problems.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, pursuant to the federal Clean
Air Act, determines the threshold for those standards. The states and indi-
vidual communities are responsible for developing plans for meeting the stan-
dards.
In 2008 the EPA put in place a new, more restrictive standard that defines
a high ozone day, or in the parlance of the federal and state bureaucracy, an
“exeedance day.” According to the new standard, an exceedance day occurs if
an ozone monitor registers a concentration level of .076 or greater parts per
million (ppm) in the atmosphere, sustained over an eight-hour period. There
are currently 41 monitors across the state of North Carolina. The number of
monitors has fluctuated over the years. Clearly, the more monitors a state has,
the more likely it is that any one monitor will register an exceedance on any
given day — ozone being a highly localized phenomena. Different states have
different numbers of monitors. For that reason, comparisons among states that
do not adjust for differing numbers of monitors are illegitimate and will always

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be biased against states with higher-than-average numbers of monitoring sites, such as North Carolina.
Prior to 2008, the EPA standard was less stringent, although still quite restrictive. Between 1997 and 2008 the
standard was .085 ppm or more over an eight-hour period. The purpose of this Spotlight is simply to make available
some consistent data that avoids apples-and-oranges comparisons between time periods that could occur because of
the two different standards. The graphs on the following pages show the number of high ozone days on an average, per
monitor basis over a ten-year time period—1999-2008. All data have been put in terms of the new .076 ppm standard.
The graphs show ozone information for the state as a whole, for the major metropolitan areas and the western moun-
tains. These regions are defined by North Carolina Division of Air Quality. The maps of these regions with the location
of each ozone monitor are also pictured. This information is presented on a per-monitor basis because, as noted, the
number of monitors across the state as well as within regions have changed over time. In other words, the numbers
shown on each graph give the average per monitor either in the state or in a particular region for the year shown.
Note that ozone levels are very localized even within metropolitan areas or regions. A monitor on one side of a
county or region could register an exceedance while, at the same time, a monitor a few mile away may not. For that
reason, the data presented here should not be read as an indication of how the air quality has varied in your particular
neighborhood or local community. As the regional maps indicate, monitors tend to be located far apart. What can be
gleaned from these data are trends and indications of better or worse years. What can easily be seen is that over the
last six years there has been a dramatic improvement in ozone levels across North Carolina. Air quality, at least with
respect to ozone, has been getting better, not worse.
Also note that we are more than two-thirds of the way through the 2009 ozone season, which runs from April 1
through October. If current trends continue, 2009 could turn out to have the fewest number of high ozone days of any
year on record. As of September 1, the entire state of North Carolina had reported only nine high ozone days registered
on five different monitors over four days. This means that 36 of the 41 monitors across the state have not registered a
single exceedance as of this date.
Dr. Roy Cordato is vice president for research and resident scholar at the John Locke Foundation.

Notes and References

• All data in this paper were obtained from the North Carolina Division of Air Quality web site, http://daq.state.nc.us/monitor/data.
The maps showing monitor locations can be found at http://daq.state.nc.us/airaware/ozone/monitors.

• For more information on this topic, see Joel Schwartz, “Where the Bodies Are Buried: How experts for N.C.’s Attorney General mislead
the public about TVA air pollution risks” John Locke Foundation Policy Report, June 2008, http://www.johnlocke.org/policy_reports/
display_story.html?id=171, and Joel Schwartz, “The Health Effects of Air Pollution: Separating Science and Propaganda,” John Locke
Foundation Policy Report, May 2006, http://www.johnlocke.org/policy_reports/display_story.html?id=70.
 Statewide Ozone Excesses: 1999-2008
Figure 1. Statewide High Ozone Days Per Monitor, 1999-2008

35.00

30.00

27.33
26.50

25.00
Per Monitor

21.47
Exceedance Days

20.00
Monitor
PerDays
High Ozone

15.00 13.80

12.00

9.86
10.00

7.15

5.26 4.93
5.00
2.87

0.00
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Year

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 Mooresville Region: Ozone Exceedance Days Per
Monitor
Figure 2. Mooresville Region: High Ozone Days Per Monitor

45.00
Per Monitor

40.00 36.11 36.75

35.00
Exceedance Days

30.00 26.75
Monitor

25.75
25.00 22.75
Per Days

20.00 17.38
High Ozone

15.00 12.50
9.75 8.88
10.00
4.88
5.00
0.00
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Year
The Mooresville region, according to the Division of Air Quality of the N.C.
Dept. of Environment and Natural Resources. Ozone monitors are indicated
on the graph.
Source: http://daq.state.nc.us/ambient/monitors/Mooresville.shtml

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 Raleigh Region:
Figure 3. RaleighExceedance Days
Region: High Ozone DaysPer Monitor
Per Monitor

35.00
30.27
Per Monitor

30.00
26.25
Exceedance Days

25.00
Monitor

20.00
Per Days

14.42
15.00 12.92
High Ozone

11.22
9.33
10.00 8.08

3.40 4.44
5.00 3.11

0.00
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Year
The Raleigh region, according to
the Division of Air Quality. Ozone
monitors are indicated on the
graph.
Source: http://daq.state.nc.us/
ambient/monitors/Raleigh.shtml

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 Winston-Salem Region: Ozone Exceedance Days
Figure 4. Winston-Salem Region: High Ozone Days Per Monitor
Per Monitor
35.00
29.78
High Ozone Days Per Monitor

30.00
24.63
Exceedance Days

25.00
Per Monitor

20.00 17.50 17.67

15.38
15.00

10.00 8.22
6.00 6.13 6.00
5.00 2.22
0.00
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Year

The Winston-Salem region, according to the Division of Air

Quality. Ozone monitors are indicated on the graph.
Source: http://daq.state.nc.us/ambient/monitors/
WinstonSalem.shtml

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 Asheville Region: Ozone Exceedance Days Per
Monitor
Figure 5. Asheville Region: High Ozone Days Per Monitor

35.00
High Ozone Days Per Monitor

30.00 27.10
Exceedance Days

25.00
Per Monitor

20.00 18.33

15.00
10.89
10.00 7.11 7.00
5.30 4.70
5.00 3.30 2.78
0.80
0.00
1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008
Year
Year
The Asheville region, according to the Division of Air Quality. Ozone monitors are indicated on the graph.
Source: http://daq.state.nc.us/ambient/monitors/Asheville.shtml