From the Environmental Protection Agency today, a breath of fresh air.--Robert Wilonsky
As the Dallas-Fort Worth area’s economy has grown to one of the nation’s most vibrant, its citizens have also enjoyed improvements in air quality. This summer saw the lowest levels of ozone in three decades, thanks to a campaign to reduce air pollution led by the Environmental Protection Agency, the State of Texas, and local governments and businesses. High readings of ozone, a compound that contributes to the formation of smog, fell to 85 parts per billion (ppb) this year, down from over 100 ppb a few years ago. Additionally, ozone levels exceeded the health-based standard of 84 ppb only nine days this summer, compared to over 40 days in the late 1990s.