Attention breathers: Ozone season begins today

Summer and sunlight are great. But the heat and sun react with the pollutants emitted by motor vehicles, power plants and other sources to form ground-level ozone.  It's more commonly known as smog. It's the haze you see over the city from one of those hills on the Schuylkill Expressway, for instance.

And it's bad news for lungs. It poses health risks for everyone, but especially those with lung problems.  More than half the population is considered especially sensitive to ground-level ozone, according to the Air Quality Partnership, which educates residents about the dangerous effects of ground-level ozone and provides air quality forecasts to the public.

Today, the partnership, a program of the Delaware Regional Planning Commission, is beginning its daily forecasts, ranking days according to how bad the smog is expected to be. On days when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy, the partnership declares an Air Quality Action Day and asks the public to take voluntary actions to protect their health and reduce pollution levels. These include taking public transportation and not topping off the gas tank, which results in more hydrocarbons wafting off into the air to be baked into smog.

This year, there's something new as well -- something called an EnviroFlash Air Quality Alert system. It's basically  an email service from the U.S. EPA that allows individuals and organizations to sign up for air quality alerts and receive advisories when air quality is forecast to be unhealthy.

To sign up for air quality alerts, visit www.airqualitypartnership.org. Daily air quality forecasts and helpful tips are also available on the website or by calling 1-800-872-7261.