Ozone levels last summer lowest in a decade

The highest one-hour ozone concentration of 479 µg/m3 was observed in Sicily, Italy, followed by 363 µg/m3 in Romania. France, Greece, Italy and Romania also reported high hourly ozone concentrations at least six times last summer.

Compared to the long-term objective of protecting human health (maximum ozone concentration of 120 µg/m3 over 8 hours), data for 2007 show that the thresholds set by the Directive 2002/3/EC were generally surpassed across Europe.

High concentrations of ozone in the air pose risks to health, by irritating breathing, reducing lung function and triggering asthma. Ground-level ozone is formed from pollutants emitted from vehicle exhausts and industrial production and is currently one of the air pollutants of most concern in Europe.

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• Air pollution by ozone across Europe during summer 2007
  

Note on the Directive 2002/3/EC:

This legislation relating to ozone in ambient air aims to

• establish common methods and criteria for assessing concentrations of ozone in ambient air

• set long-term objectives, target values for 2010, an alert threshold and an information threshold for concentrations of ozone in ambient air in the Community

• ensure that adequate information is obtained on ambient levels of ozone and that it is made available to the public

• maintain or improve ambient air quality

• promote increased cooperation between the Member States in reducing ozone levels