COVID-19 Lockdowns Impact on Ozone Pollution
6/18/2020
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 18, 2020
NEWARK, DE - David Stevenson, Director of the Center for Energy & Environmental Policy at the Caesar Rodney Institute, has released a study revealing how much ozone is manmade and how much is just nature.
"High levels of ozone heighten symptoms for people with respiratory ailments, such as asthma, and chronic obstructed pulmonary disease (COPD), and can result in more hospitalizations. Ozone is not emitted directly, but forms from both natural and manmade precursor chemicals in sunlight.
An initial look at air quality data during the COVID-19 lockdown is a strong indicator manmade air pollution fell by about half in the Philadelphia area in the last third of March while ozone only fell 2.5%.
Computer models used by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to set national air quality standards project ozone levels should have fallen up to four times more during the lockdowns.
If additional data confirms that naturally produced ozone levels are substantially higher than EPA models, it means no amount of regulation will likely result in urban areas meeting the current EPA ozone standard of 70 parts per billion averaged over three years."
CLICK HERE to read Dave's summary report with a link to the full report.
Mr. Stevenson served on President Trump's EPA transition team and is a founding member of the State Policy Network's Energy & Environment Working Group.
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About Caesar Rodney Institute:
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