Healthy Communities

Ozone Action Days

The Arkansas Department of Health has broad overview of environmental conditions and hazards that affect the citizens of Arkansas. Ozone Action Days (OAD) is a public awareness program of Metroplan, in partnership with the Arkansas Division of Environmental Quality, Arkansas Department of Health, and the Arkansas State Highway and Transportation Department. The program is designed to help central Arkansas by keeping you informed about potentially harmful ground-level ozone. Ground-level ozone is a bad type of ozone that is created when pollutants mix with sunlight. Breathing this type of ozone can cause a number of problems including chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and congestion.

An Ozone Action Day is declared when weather conditions are likely to combine with pollution emissions to form high levels of ozone near the ground that may cause harmful health effects. People and businesses should take action to reduce emissions of ozone-causing pollutants.

Local air quality experts (usually meteorologists) use air quality computer models, weather data, measurements of pollution levels, and local experience to come up with a daily air pollution forecast. When this forecast indicates that high temperatures, light winds, no rain, and/or a wind direction blowing in polluted air from another area will combine to cause ozone levels in excess of the federal standards, an Ozone Action Day is declared.

Ozone Action Day Tips

Everyday Tips

To visit the ADEQ page to see the current Air Quality Index in your area click here.

Resources

Ozone Action Days
OAD Notification Form

Public Health Accrediation Board
Arkansas Department of Health
© 2017 Arkansas Department of Health. All Rights Reserved. www.healthy.arkansas.gov
4815 W. Markham, Little Rock, AR 72205-3867
1-800-462-0599