This excerpt was written by Eddie Bernice Johnson and Harold Wimmer for the Star-Telegram:
Summer should be a time for families to relax, perhaps take a trip to a favorite vacation spot — but all too often, summer means a trip to the emergency room.
For people living with asthma, and their families, summer’s heat means ozone pollution can make it unsafe to be outside.
Breathing ozone, often called smog, can send people with asthma to the emergency room, and it can shorten people’s lives. In Dallas-Fort Worth, dangerous ozone episodes frequently occur from now through September.
People here are all too familiar with air quality alerts. Families know that a hot day can be a Code Orange or Red day — an unhealthy air day — so they need to take steps to protect themselves.
Even on “moderate” code yellow days, the ozone pollution places children, seniors and those with asthma and other chronic diseases at risk.
However, the warnings are based on an outdated standard for ozone … READ FULL ARTICLE HERE
U.S. Rep. Eddie Bernice Johnson, D-Dallas, represents the 30th Congressional District. Harold Wimmer is National President and CEO of the American Lung Association.
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