BORDERLAND

Michigan declares its 
3rd Ozone Action Day

8/20/2013

Forecasts for hot, humid, and sunny weather have prompted officials in southeast Michigan to declare just the third Ozone Action Day of the summer for a nine-county area.

The Southeast Michigan Council of Governments declaration urges residents and visitors to minimize driving, delay refueling vehicles until evening, and otherwise reducing activities that contribute hydrocarbon pollution to the air. Heat and sunshine increase that pollution’s reactions in the atmosphere that produce low-level ozone and smog, which make breathing difficult for people with respiratory problems.

The SEMCOG-covered area includes Monroe County, along with six counties to the north in metro Detroit. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality issued its own air-quality alerts for all seven counties plus Lenawee and Hillsdale.