KANSAS CITY, Mo. - The Kansas City area exceeded federal ozone standards on six days in 2009, resulting in additional controls needing to be implemented.
The Missouri Department of Natural Resources says the Kansas City area is in violation of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's 2008 eight-hour ozone standard and will likely be designated as a "nonattainment area."
A "nonattainment area" designation would require Kansas City to implement even more stringent controls than those currently in place to meet the ozone standard.
The 2009 Ozone season begins April 1 and ends Oct. 31. Throughout the season, monitors in the Kansas City area record ozone levels at five sites in Missouri and three in Kansas. Ozone is produced when organic compounds mix with oxides and nitrogen on warm, sunny days with little or no wind.
Exposure to ground-level ozone can aggravate health problems like asthma, heart disease, and other respiratory illnesses.
