Nonattainment Areas
click here for Fine Particulate Matter site
 

OZONE

Ground-level ozone, a primary ingredient in smog, is formed when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and NOx react chemically in the presence of sunlight. Car, trucks, power plants and industrial facilities are primary sources of these emissions. Ozone pollution is a concern during the summer months when the weather conditions needed to form ground-level ozone – lots of sun and hot temperatures – normally occur. Ozone is unhealthy to breathe, especially for people with respiratory diseases and for children and adults who are active outdoors.

1-Hour Ozone (Attained June 14, 2005; Standard Revoked June 15, 2005)

Click on the city for a map of those counties:

1-hr Maintenance Area (13): Atlanta Cherokee Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett,, Henry, Paulding, Rockdale
   
1-hr Contributing Counties (32): Atlanta Banks, Barrow, Bartow, Butts, Carroll, Chattooga, Clarke, Dawson, Floyd, Gordon, Hall, Haralson, Heard, Jackson, Jasper, Jones, Lamar, Lumpkin, Madison, Meriwether, Monroe, Morgan, Newton, Oconee, Pickens, Pike, Polk, Putnam, Spalding, Troup, Upson, Walton

8-Hour Ozone
The 8-hour ozone standard, 0.08 parts per million (ppm), averaged over eight hours, replaces the 1-hour standard that has been in place since 1979. The 8-hour standard was issued in 1997 after a significant body of research showed that longer-term exposure to lower levels of ozone can also affect human health. Implementation of the new standard was held up by a lengthy legal battle.

Deadlines for meeting the 8-hour ozone standard range from 2007 to 2021, depending on the severity of an area's ozone problem. For example, areas with more significant ozone problems, such as Los Angeles, may have to apply more rigorous control measures, but will have a longer time to meet the ozone standards.

Click on the city for a map of those counties:

8-hr Nonattainment Area: Atlanta Barrow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, Rockdale, Bartow, Carroll, Hall, Newton, Spalding, Walton
8-hr Maintenance Area: Macon Bibb and Monroe*
8-hr EAC Area: Chattanooga Catoosa and Walker**
8-hr Maintenance Area: Murray Murray*








* - Partial County
** - Deferred non-attainment date
 
PM FINE

In July 1997, EPA issued National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Fine Particles (PM 2.5). The standards include an annual standard set at 15 micrograms per cubic meter, based on the 3-year average of annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations and a 24-hour standard of 65 micrograms per cubic meter, based on the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations.

Fine particle pollution is a mixture of microscopic solids and liquid droplets suspended in air. Fine particles can be emitted directly (such as smoke from a fire) or formed in the atmosphere from power plant, industrial and mobile source emissions of gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Fine particles less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter (called PM2.5 and measuring about one-thirtieth the diameter of an average human hair), pose the greatest risk. These particles can get deep into the lungs, and some may even get into the bloodstream.

 

Click on the city for a map of those counties:

Nonattainment Area: Atlanta
Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Heard*, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Putnam*, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton
Nonattainment Area: Chattanooga
Catoosa and Walker
Nonattainment Area: Floyd County Floyd
Nonattainment Area: Macon Bibb and Monroe*
 
* - Partial County
NOTE: Clarke (Athens) and Muscogee (Columbus) Counties were origianlly designated non-attainment for PM fine, but have been since reclassified based on more recent data.