Ozone | sciencenewsnet.in

Is the air getting cleaner during the COVID-19 pandemic?

June 17, 2020 sarah Jonas Air Pollution, Air Quality, COVID-19, NO2, Ozone, Pm2.5, stay-at-home order, Traffic

Using air quality data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors across the U.S., a UW-led team looked for changes in two common pollutants over the course of 2020.

Policy

EPA Proposal to Change How It Evaluates Environmental Policy Ignores Science

June 5, 2020 sarah Jonas Air Pollution, Environment and Health, EPA, Ozone

The American Thoracic Society is extremely concerned with today’s announcement about changes in how the EPA evaluates the costs and benefits of environmental policy. While the details of economic analysis of environmental regulations are complex, the guiding principle is remarkably simple: compare all the costs and benefits of agency actions. The proposed changes in how costs and benefits are evaluated will sufficiently degrade the credibility of economic analysis conducted at the EPA to the point that it is no longer able to function as an objective policy analysis tool.

Feature

New mechanism links ozone and disease resistance

May 8, 2020 sarah Jonas Criegee, Ozone, Ozone Exposure

Scientists have identified a new mechanism for the breakdown of the building blocks of cell membranes. The mechanism is based on autoxidation from the interaction of oxygen and hydroxyl free radicals and the subsequent chain reaction between hydroxyl radicals and the Criegee intermediates that form from atmospheric ozone.

Announcement

HARC Research Analyzes Effects of COVID-19 on Air Quality

April 29, 2020 sarah Jonas Air Quality, covid 19, Environment, Harris County, Houston, NOX, Ozone, Texas

HARC (Houston Advanced Research Center) announces research analysis to study effects of COVID-19, associated stay-at-home orders, and the subsequent effects on air quality. Specifically, the changes in air quality measuring nitrogen oxides (NOx); benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene (BTEX); and ground-level ozone (O3).

Research Results

Scientists Discover New Clue Behind Age-Related Diseases and Food Spoilage

February 26, 2020 sarah Jonas Advanced Light Source, Age-related Diseases, aging adults, Alzheimer's Disease, ATMOSPHERIC CHEMISTRY, Avocado, BIOCHEMISTRY, Cancer, Chronic Diseases, Dementia, Department of Energy (DOE), Department of Energy Office of Science, food science and nutrition, Fuels, Hydroxyl, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Lipids, Mass Spectrometry, meat, Neurodegenative Disease, Organic Chemistry, Oxidation, Oxygen, Ozone, Parkinson's Disease, Plastic, Pollution, Synchrotron Science, ultraviolet light

Berkeley Lab scientists have made a surprising discovery that could help explain our risk for developing chronic diseases or cancers as we get older, and how our food decomposes over time.

Research Results

FSU Research: Despite less ozone pollution, not all plants benefit

January 22, 2020 sarah Jonas 0 Comments Ozone

Policies and new technologies have reduced emissions of precursor gases that lead to ozone air pollution, but despite those improvements, the amount of ozone that plants are taking in has not followed the same trend, according to Florida State University researchers.

Research Results

Exposure to Ozone Pollution or Wood Smoke Worsens Lung Health of Smokers and Former Smokers

December 23, 2019 sarah Jonas 0 Comments Ozone, Pollution

Over many years, exposure to the levels of ozone and other forms of pollution found in most U.S. cities and some rural communities can take a toll on a person’s health. Two studies led by Johns Hopkins researchers describe the impact of pollution on lung disease, particularly chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), in the U.S.

Feature Expert

U.S. Carbon and Pollution Emissions Policies are ‘Up in the Air’

October 25, 2019 sarah Jonas 0 Comments Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Emissions, Energy Policy, Ozone, Trump Administration

Tangles in courts and in Congress threaten emissions-related energy regulations and incentives. If these are lost, carbon emissions are projected to climb, and the fight against health-damaging ozone may lose traction, allowing it to resurge, too. An expert explains the legal messes.

Research Results

Energy Regulation Rollbacks Threaten Progress Against Harmful Ozone

October 25, 2019 sarah Jonas 0 Comments Affordable Clean Energy, Air Quality, Air Quality and Health, Attainment, CAFE standards, Carbon Dioxide, carbon dioxide (CO2), carbon dioxide effects, Carbon Emissions, Clean Air Act, Clean Power Plan, Climate Change, Coal fired power plants, Corporate Average Fuel Economy, Executive Order, Forecast, global warming, Global Warming And The Environment, Global Warming Climate Change, Global Warming Concerns, nitrogen oxides, NOX, Noxious, Obama Administration, Ozone, ozone attainment, Ozone Exposure, Ozone Levels, Regulations, Trump Administration

The fight against harmful ozone is under legal threat. Air quality and carbon emissions regulations are currently in limbo in courts and congress, from core legislation from the 1970s to rules from the last U.S. administration. This study models the future losses in the fight to drive down respiratory-damaging, ground-level ozone if the regulations go away.