It is found in city parks, on the outskirts and even in outlying municipalities. Ozone shows up where nobody would expect it, far from the car exhausts that clog up city centers. A report by the European Environment Agency using 2012 data shows that Spain was the EU country that most often surpassed recommended levels of this irritant gas. Spain, just like other Mediterranean countries registering high temperatures and many hours of sunlight, is particularly exposed to ozone pollution. It is a secondary pollutant, forming when other toxic gases (chiefly nitrogen oxide emissions from vehicles) react with solar radiation. Velázquez de Castro took part in a study that posited a relationship between heat and mortality in Seville: the analysis showed that higher ozone concentrations affected men more than women because they spent more time outdoors. "Pollution information is extremely important because it saves lives." "The way the government is neglecting this issue is a cause for concern," says Federico Velázquez de Castro, a doctor in chemistry at Madrid's Complutense University and author of several studies on ozone. In the southern region of Andalusia, several cities have signboards on the streets, but there are not enough of them to cover more than a few spots. The city of Madrid has an information system in place: a text messaging service that works through subscription and sends alerts to mobile devices, albeit rather late. But someone who has just been jogging in Juan Carlos I Park, where the measuring station is located, will wonder what the point is of learning about it so late.Įxperts who know about the ill health effects of tropospheric ozone - also known as low-level ozone or bad ozone, as opposed to stratospheric ozone, which filters ultraviolet radiation - also wonder why authorities do not do a better job of informing citizens about pollution levels when they exceed safety thresholds. A text message comes through on the cellphone: the ozone threshold at the Juan Carlos I pollution measuring station was crossed at 5pm, with a concentration of 191 micrograms/m3, and it is likely to get worse.Īnyone getting this information sitting at a sidewalk café at the opposite end of Madrid will not worry about it. It is nearly six in the evening on July 7. Pollution over the Madrid skyline: experts say traffic has to be reduced to bring down ozone levels.
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