The American Lung Association released its annual air quality report on Boulder County in April of 2017, and the results aren’t pretty. The report, which pulls from three years of data, 2013, 2014 and 2015, gave Boulder County an F on the number of high ozone days. A bright spot is that the county received a grade of B on particle pollution over a 24 hour period and that it recorded five fewer high ozone days compared to 1996.
In 2016, the Denver-Aurora metro area, which includes Boulder County, ranked eighth in the nation in ozone pollution, according to the ALA. Our hot summers and the topography of the Denver metro area – basically a bowl at the foot of the Rockies – has proven to be a problem for ozone for more than 30 years.
Ozone is formed by burning fossil fuels such as gasoline, oil and coal and when solvents and other chemicals evaporate. When those chemicals mix with sunlight, ozone is created. Reducing ozone-causing emissions – from industrial power plants to residential gas-powered lawnmowers – would have an impact, environmentalists say.
High ozone levels are particularly hard on the elderly, the young and those with respiratory problems such as asthma. Working or exercising outdoors on high ozone days can exacerbate problems.
Ozone pollution has actually been improving in Colorado, according to the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment. The lower levels have come even with the state’s strong population growth. However, at the same time, the Environmental Protection Agency has tightened standards, meaning that more alerts may take place.
