Environmental Services
Ozone and Air Quality
What is ozone and why is it a problem?
Ozone gas can be found in both the upper and lower atmospheres. The ozone layer in the upper atmosphere exists naturally and is essential to life because it filters harmful ultraviolet radiation from the sun, reducing the amount reaching the earth's surface. High concentrations of ozone near ground level, however, can be harmful to people, animals, crops, and other materials.
Ground level ozone is the main ingredient in urban and regional smog. It is created when air pollutants from a variety of sources react in sunlight.
The main ozone-causing pollutants are volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Because heat and sunlight are also important factors in ground-level ozone formation, ozone pollution is primarily a concern from April through October.
Motor vehicles account for about 30-40% of the ozone-causing pollutants in the Baltimore and Washington areas, but other sources include lawnmowers, boats, many household products, power plants, and industrial facilities.
What is the County Doing?
The County’s Ozone Management program involves many different activities, including:
- Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS) has been a leader in promoting the Ozone Action Days program since its inception. ACCS has done this through distribution of materials through the County’s Commuter Stores in Ballston, Rosslyn, and Crystal City and through direct mail campaigns to hundreds of Arlington employers through the Arlington Transportation Partners (ATP) Employer Services Division.
- For all Code Red (poor air quality) days, Arlington County government implements our air quality action plan, including avoiding refueling vehicles, encouraging telecommuting, and avoiding lawn mowing.
- The County encourages employees to use public or alternative transportation in order to reduce pollution, improve air quality, save energy, and ease traffic congestion.
- The County increased the employee metro subsidy from 60% to 75% (Metrorail, Metrobus and other local transit), created an incentive to walk or bike to work, and a created a program to provide direct financial assistance to employees to purchase a home in Arlington.
- The County strives to lessen the impact of fleet of 1148 County vehicles by using 37 vehicles that run on compressed natural gas (CNG), 148 vehicles that are hybrid gasoline/electric vehicles, and 289that run on “E-85” ethanol.
- The entire diesel fleet, including medium and heavy trucks and school buses, uses bio-diesel fuel. Bio-diesel is comprised of refined soybean fuel oil, a renewable fuel, and ultra low sulfer diesel. The use of this blend saves thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and greatly reduces exhaust emissions.
- The County’s operational divisions, which use most of the heavy construction equipment and large trucks, modify their activities to respond to ozone action days.
What Can You Do?
Commuting
- Use commuting alternatives, such as Metro, commuter rail other transit, carpools and vanpools, bicycling and walking, telework.
- Reduce driving; combine errands to avoid extra trips.
- Refuel when it's cool! – after sunset.
- Keep vehicles well tuned and maintained.
- Ride the bus FREE on Code Red days
- Sign up for AIR Alerts!
In Your Yard
- Code Red, Leave in the Shed! Small gasoline-powered engines, such as lawn mowers, contribute significantly to the production of ground-level ozone. Don't use gasoline-powered lawn and garden equipment on Code Red days. Put off mowing until a cooler day, use manual tools such as push mowers, or use electric equipment.
- Avoid Spilling Gasoline - even small spills evaporate and pollute the air. Use a funnel or spout to prevent overfilling.
- Reduce the size of your lawn. Think about planting shrubs, trees, and low-growing ground cover to reduce the amount of lawn you have to mow.
- Reduce mowing frequency. Use low-maintenance turf grasses that grow slowly and require less mowing.
In the Home
Use Pumps Rather Than Sprays on Code Red Days - Did you know that consumer products contribute about 13% of the total non-vehicular volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions in the Washington-Baltimore region?
Items such as deodorants, air fresheners, household cleaners, engine degreasers, windshield washer fluids, and non-aerosol "brush on" house paints contain ingredients that contribute to smog. Hairspray, cleaning products and insecticides are other examples of common consumer products that are made with smog-forming chemicals.
Choose Clean Substitutes
| If you use... | Try this instead! |
| Aerosol containers | Pump Containers |
| Oil based paints | Water based paints (or low odor paints) |
| Mothballs | Cedar blocks |
| Perfume/cologne | Natural oils |
| Air fresheners | Potpourri |
| Organic pesticides | Boric acid |
Ozone Management in Arlington County
During the ozone season, Arlington County continued to pursue an innovative and progressive program to decrease ground-level ozone and to increase our citizens' and employees' awareness of the hazards of ozone. The County has an outstanding record of support for clean air initiatives. Our Department of Environmental Services, General Services Division, which oversees the County vehicle fleet and Division of Transportation, which administers our transportation programs, have both been regional leaders in their efforts to reduce ground-level ozone. Our comprehensive approach to addressing air quality issues in the region, is reflected in our transportation planning, our employee incentive programs to use mass transit or other non-polluting methods to get to work, our vehicle fleet purchasing and fueling practices, our operational practices, our contracting efforts, and our educational outreach initiatives. The County’s premiere effort for improving air quality in the region is Arlington County Commuter Services (ACCS).
ACCS has been a leader in promoting the Ozone Action Days program since its inception. ACCS has done this through distribution of materials through the County’s Commuter Stores in Ballston, Rosslyn, and Crystal City and through direct mail campaigns to hundreds of Arlington employers through the Arlington Transportation Partners (ATP) Employer Services Division. ATP is a free service for Arlington Employers that works to develop a simple commuter benefits plan to provide their employees with commuting information and incentives. In addition, the web site CommuterPage.com has the most substantial amount of information on Ozone Action Days for individuals or employers in the entire region.
