Over Father’s Day weekend, monitors in Davenport reported unsafe ozone levels. Ozone levels are considered unsafe when they exceed 71 parts per billion, and they pose direct risks to those with asthma or other respiratory issues, the elderly, and children. Iowa Department of Natural Resources Air Monitoring Unit Leader Sean Fitzsimmons said issues can arise when there are several days of hot, cloudless weather. The ultraviolet rays react with fossil fuel emissions and other pollutants and create excess levels of ozone.

The ozone levels have since decreased to safe levels, but Fitzsimmons says there are small but effective ways people can reduce the risk. He said fueling cars in the evening, using public transportation, and mowing during the cooler parts of the day are all simple things people can do to help. However, he added the biggest cause of increased ozone is emissions from large factories, and the Environmental Protection Agency has been focusing on regulating them. Before the EPA will intervene, an area would need four cases in a year of 71 parts per billion ozone levels for three years. Fitzsimmons says there’s no area in Iowa that is currently in danger of reaching that, but they still alert people when levels get too high. Fitzsimmons advises ozone is a regional pollutant, so citizens of Washington County should also be mindful when it affects an area in close proximity like Davenport.