Low-Level Ozone Exposure Deadly Over Time

Burning fossil fuels is killing us

An American Cancer Society study of nearly 500,000 people that has been in progress for the past 18 years cannot be ignored. If we turn a blind eye, we do so at our own peril. So long as we continue to depend upon fossil fuels for transportation, commerce and everyday living, every breath we take brings us closer to our deaths. That’s an installment loan that can never be repaid.

Thomas Maugh reports for the Los Angeles Times that increased ozone levels in the air are directly related to death from respiratory illnesses, not just short-term effects. Death from cardiovascular diseases are not related to ozone levels, but other types of air pollution.

Ozone?

Ozone is a colorless gas that is considered a secondary pollutant. Nitrogen oxides produced by fossil fuel combustion react in sunlight and become ozone. This process occurs most in large cities and urban-industrial areas where sun and warm temperatures are the norm.

Ozone reacts with lung cells, causing “inflammation and other effects that lead to premature aging,” writes Maugh. The study has shown that this increases the yearly risk of death from respiratory illnesses from 40 to 50 percent in poor air quality areas like Los Angeles and Riverside, California. The rest of the country has a 25 percent greater chance of dying from ozone diseases. Low-level exposure over the course of a year is dangerous. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "Low-Level Ozone Exposure Deadly Over Time"