Ozone Kills!

Unlike the ozone high in the atmosphere that keeps us safe from the Sun’s rays, ozone at ground level is dangerous. It causes increased hospitalization and death for people with respiratory or cardiac illness, it increases asthma development in children, and it leads to decreased lung function and scarring in people with no previous lung conditions. See the American Lung Association website for more information. 

Where does ozone come from?

Ground-level ozone is caused when certain pollutants react with sunlight. Cars and trucks are one source of these pollutants, called NOx and VOCs, but fracking and other oil and gas activities are by far the largest source. In fact, oil and gas activities cause more of this pollution than on-road sources, off-road sources, and non-oil and gas point sources combined.

Ozone in the Front Range

The Denver Metro and North Front Range has had dangerous levels of ozone for 15 years – so bad, it now has a ‘severe’ rating from the EPA. Colorado has to develop a State Implementation Plan (SIP) to get our ozone levels down. But they are not tackling fracking–they are letting fracking emissions rise by 11% by 2026. Drivers in the high ozone areas will often see warnings to drive less on high ozone days, but there are no similar warnings for fracking sites. There are no current or proposed rules to rein in fracking activities during ozone season. 

Take action now

Send to Governor Polis, the Air Pollution Control Division, the Air Quality Control Commission, and the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.