Saturday, August 28, 2010

Ozone concentrations in the city

From the Times Ledger:

It has long been established that thousands of cars and trucks create major pollution along New York City’s boulevards and highways, but it turns out that even quieter places like parts of Queens endure a dangerous, smog-like ozone.

The city Department of Health completed a study of summer air conditions throughout the city and the agency found that ozone concentrations were highest in downwind outerborough locations, such as the Rockaways and lower Staten Island.

Ozone results from chemical reactions among other pollutants such as nitrogen oxide in the presence of sunlight.

But in a curious finding, the report said the same pollutants that cause ozone can also remove it from the air, which means high traffic centers such as midtown Manhattan with heavy emissions often have less ozone than downwind areas.

Ozone pollution, which the department said can aggravate asthma, was also detected in Howard Beach, Broad Channel, parts of Jamaica and St. Albans, College Point and Douglaston.

The report, conducted last summer, said any city neighborhood adjacent to busy highways was a major air pollution area.

The report said another solution to reducing harmful emissions is to expand mass transit options to help achieve the clean air goals set out in PlaNYC in 2007 to improve the city’s air quality. The results of the city Community Air Survey are part of PlaNYC and involve sampling the air at 150 street-level locations in every season.

6 comments:

Anonymous said...

For once the south bronx and spanish harlem didnt rank in the lowest of a study.

Anonymous said...

Throw out the incumbents! Then we could have a little fresh air and breathe easier!

ObamaNation said...

Its the airplanes, the feds are letting them use that cheap J-2 fuel again. It has loads of sulfur and the impurity's in it.
You can smell the shit on N Brother island..it actually stings your sinuses like needles.

I guess the airlines like the banks can do any dam thing they want as our pols keeps their mouths shut in exchange for that fed $$$.
That's one reason I threw my Census (all 4 of them) in the garbage

Anonymous said...

water and feed your trees!

Anonymous said...

Let's build MORE luxury condos in LIC so the rich Republican transplants can clog MORE of our streets with BRAND NEW SUV'S.

Didn't the guy who owns D'Agostino's supermarkets want to run for mayor on this agenda, stating that high rises near public transportation CUTS DOWN on cars and pollution?

LOOK AT THE MAP OF WESTERN QUEENS!

IT'S ALMOST BLACK!

Anonymous said...

That was John Catsimatidis of Gristedes Supermarkets.