Perry County finishes season with acceptable ozone numbers

Area environmental committee members probably breathed a sigh of relief when the final ozone numbers were released for the 2015 season.

The monitoring station at Farrar, Missouri, in Perry County, closed the season with numbers well within the Environmental Protection Agency's guidelines.

An air-quality committee in Perryville, Missouri, tracks daily readings taken by the Missouri Department of Natural Resources.

The department collects data from the air monitors to see whether the state's air quality meets the EPA's National Ambient Air Quality Standards, according to dnr.mo.gov.

Ozone season runs from April 1 to Oct. 31.

The EPA's allowable limit on emissions had been 75 parts per billion, as established in 2008. The agency, however, released a new standard of 70 ppb on Oct. 1.

No enforcement or implementation action will be taken until nonattainment areas are identified, Southeast Missouri Regional Planning Commission deputy director David Grimes said in an email to the Southeast Missourian last month.

The public-health benefits of the new standard are estimated at $2.9 billion to $5.9 billion annually in 2025 outside California and outweigh the estimated cost of $1.4 billion, according to the EPA's website.

The Farrar station had only one exceedence this year, 79 parts per billion on June 9. Hot, humid weather can cause the readings to rise.

New designated nonattainment areas, likely based on 2014 through 2016 data, will be announced October 2017, according to information provided by Grimes from a webinar presented by Trinity Consultants.

kwebster@semissourian.com

(573) 388-3646

Pertinent address:

Farrar, Missouri