Cleaner Texas air means easier breathing up here
Pollution levels in Dallas-Fort Worth are falling, experts say

BY CARRIE COPPERNOLL Comments 0
Published: November 14, 2008

The air above Dallas and Fort Worth is clearing, and scientists are saying that’s good news for southern parts of Oklahoma.

A dramatic skyline lights up the night. Dallas is the No. 1 visitor destination in Texas. Photo provided

Multimedia

Documents

Oklahoma DEQ air quality ratings, explanations

More Info

ONLINE

More

"�Read an explanation of air quality levels from the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality.

Also, read a report about the effects of Texas air on southern Oklahoma by

environmental scientist Mark Sather of the Environmental Protection Agency.

www.NewsOK.com

Better regulation and increased government funding of cleaner energy have resulted in steadily improving air quality in the Dallas area, said Mark Sather, an environmental scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency.

"We do expect over time that the ozone concentrations will continue to decrease,” Sather said, "and that will affect southern Oklahoma also.”

High ozone levels in the Dallas area averaged 85 parts per billion this year, compared with more than 100 parts per billion a few years ago, according to EPA reports.

Declines have been reported in southern Oklahoma also, according to the Oklahoma Department of Environmental Quality. For example, high levels in McAlester dropped to about 71 parts per billion this year from 73 parts per billion last year.

Most wind in Oklahoma comes from the south, said Derek Arndt, associate state climatologist with the Oklahoma Climatological Survey. Wind comes from the north sometimes in the winter, but the rest of the year, the breeze comes from Texas.

And that breeze brings pollution, Sather said.

Cities are packed with cars, factories and businesses that generate pollutants. Some pollutants combine with sunlight to form ozone, the main ingredient of smog. Plumes of smog form over large cities, and in Dallas, wind carries the plume north to Oklahoma, Sather said.

Sometimes, the smog plume can be tracked as far north as Tulsa, said Scott Thomas of the Air Quality Division in the state Department of Environmental Quality.

While conditions are improving, Oklahomans are still affected, Thomas said. Residents of rural areas should keep track of ozone levels even if they live miles from the nearest smokestack.

"Conditions are right that they can be affected like anyone else,” he said.

"We do expect over time

that the ozone concentrations will continue to decrease, and that will affect southern Oklahoma also.”

Mark Sather,
Environmental scientist for the Environmental Protection Agency