Nonattainment Areas
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OZONE

2008 8-Hour Ozone
The 2008 8-hour ozone standard, 0.075 parts per million (ppm), averaged over eight hours, was published in the Federal register on March 27, 2008. On July 16, 2009, EPA announced that it would reconsider the ozone NAAQS. EPA proposed reconsideration of the ozone NAAQS on January 6, 2010, however, EPA did not take action on the proposed reconsideration. EPA failed to designate areas under this standard by the statutory requirements by March 12, 2011 and subsequently entered a consent decree with WildEarth Guardians to designate by March 31, 2012. EPA published final designations for the 2008 8-hr ozone NAAQS on May 21, 20012. Atlanta was designated as a marginal area under the NAAQS, which means that EPA expects the area to attain the standard by December 31, 2015. No revision to the State Implementation Plan (SIP) is due under the marginal classification.

Click on the city for a map of those counties:

2008 8-hr Nonattainment Area: Atlanta
 Bartow, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Newton, Paulding, and Rockdale

EPD's Revised Recommended Non-Attainment Designations for the 2008 8-hour Ozone Standard Submitted to EPA 9/25/2011 (Letter to EPA)(Technical Analysis)

EPA's 120-day response (Letter to EPD)(Technical Analysis) for the 2008 8-hour Ozone NAAQS

EPD's response (Letter to EPA)(Technical Analysis) to EPA's 120-day letter for the 2008 8-hour Ozone NAAQS

Ground-level ozone, a primary ingredient in smog, is formed when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and NOx react chemically in the presence of sunlight. Car, trucks, power plants and industrial facilities are primary sources of these emissions. Ozone pollution is a concern during the summer months when the weather conditions needed to form ground-level ozone – lots of sun and hot temperatures – normally occur. Ozone is unhealthy to breathe, especially for people with respiratory diseases and for children and adults who are active outdoors.

1997 8-Hour Ozone
The 8-hour ozone standard, 0.08 parts per million (ppm), averaged over eight hours, replaced the 1-hour standard that has been in place since 1979. The 8-hour standard was issued in 1997 after a significant body of research showed that longer-term exposure to lower levels of ozone can also affect human health. Implementation of the new standard was held up by a lengthy legal battle.

Click on the city for a map of those counties:

1997 8-hr Nonattainment Area: Atlanta Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton




In July 1997, EPA issued National Ambient Air Quality Standards for Fine Particles (PM 2.5). The standards include an annual standard set at 15 micrograms per cubic meter, based on the 3-year average of annual mean PM 2.5 concentrations and a 24-hour standard of 65 micrograms per cubic meter, based on the 3-year average of the 98th percentile of 24-hour concentrations.

Fine particle pollution is a mixture of microscopic solids and liquid droplets suspended in air. Fine particles can be emitted directly (such as smoke from a fire) or formed in the atmosphere from power plant, industrial and mobile source emissions of gases such as sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides. Fine particles less than or equal to 2.5 micrometers in diameter (called PM2.5 and measuring about one-thirtieth the diameter of an average human hair), pose the greatest risk. These particles can get deep into the lungs, and some may even get into the bloodstream.

 
Nonattainment Area: Atlanta
Barrow, Bartow, Carroll, Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Hall, Heard*, Henry, Newton, Paulding, Putnam*, Rockdale, Spalding, Walton
Nonattainment Area: Chattanooga
Catoosa and Walker
Nonattainment Area: Floyd County Floyd
Nonattainment Area: Macon Bibb and Monroe*
 
* - Partial County
NOTE: Clarke (Athens) and Muscogee (Columbus) Counties were origianlly designated non-attainment for PM fine, but have been since reclassified based on more recent data.