Big Swath Of Texas Placed Under 'Ozone Alert Day'

AUSTIN, TX — Much of Texas — Austin, El Paso, Dallas, Houston and San Antonio included — will be under an "Ozone Action Day" on Thursday, environmental regulators said.

A summer Ozone Action Day is implemented when weather conditions run the risk of causing health problems, according to Texas Commission on Environmental Quality officials. High concentrations of ozone can cause shortness of breath, coughing, wheezing, headaches, nausea, eye and throat irritation, and lung damage, according to the Environmental Defense Fund.

People who suffer from lung diseases like bronchitis, pneumonia, emphysema, asthma, and colds have even more trouble breathing when the air is polluted, the EDF adds. "These effects can be worse in anyone who spends significant periods of time exercising or working outdoors," the website reads.

Ozone is a form of oxygen formed through chemical reactions between natural and man-made emissions of Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) and oxides of nitrogen (NOx) in the presence of sunlight. VOCs and NOx sources include automobiles, boats, chemical manufacturing plants, refineries and solvents used in dry cleaners and pain shop, the TCEQ explained. Such conditions also emerge wherever natural gas, gasoline, diesel fuel, kerosene and oil are combusted, officials added.