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Anoka County Among Cleanest for Ozone Pollution

Earns 'A' grade in American Lung Association's 'State of the Air 2012' study.

Anoka County is one of the cleanest in the country when it comes to ozone air pollution, according to State of the Air 2012, a report from the American Lung Association.

Thirteen Minnesota counties had "no monitored ozone air pollution in unhealthful ranges," according to the report. Anoka and Washington counties were the only counties in the seven-county metro area to make the list. (Hennepin and Ramsey counties weren't counted.)

Data for Anoka County was incomplete for particle pollution, the other kind of air pollution included in the report:

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Two types of air pollution dominate the problem in the U.S.: ozone and particle pollution. They aren’t the only serious air pollutants: others include carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, and sulfur dioxide, as well as scores of toxins such as mercury, arsenic, benzene, formaldehyde, and acid gases. However, ozone and particle pollution are the most widespread pollutants.

Here is how the report defines ozone:

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Ozone (O3) is an extremely reactive gas molecule composed of three oxygen atoms. It is the primary ingredient of smog air pollution and is very harmful to breathe. Ozone attacks lung tissue by reacting chemically with it.

The ozone layer found high in the upper atmosphere (the stratosphere) shields us from much of the sun’s ultraviolet ra- diation. However, ozone air pollution at ground level where we can breathe it (in the troposphere) is harmful. It causes serious health problems.

Where Does Ozone Come From?

What you see coming out of the tailpipe on a car or a truck isn’t ozone, but the raw ingredients for making ozone. Ozone is formed by chemical reactions in the atmosphere from two raw gases that do come out of tailpipes, smokestacks and many other sources. These essential raw ingredients for ozone are nitrogen oxides (NOX) and hydrocarbons, also called volatile organic compounds (VOCs). They are produced primarily when fossil fuels like gasoline, oil or coal are burned or when some chemicals, like solvents, evaporate.


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