With summertime heat officially here, Clark County officials rolled out a new public outreach campaign aimed at educating residents about actions they can take at the gas pump and during commutes to eliminate the formation of ground-level ozone.

The campaign is part of a Department of Air Quality & Environmental Management strategy to help the county meet a new federal standard for ground-level ozone, a key ingredient of urban smog. Thirty-second TV spots begin airing this month on local television stations. Other campaign components include billboards, newspaper ads, radio announcements and Spanish-language TV spots. Dusty, the comical bad boy of Air Quality’s award-winning anti-dust commercial, makes a brief appearance in the TV spots. He’s shown obsessively staring at numbers on a gas meter as he tops off at the pump, one of several behaviors that contribute to ground-level ozone pollution. Other portions of the commercial advise viewers to fill up after sunset and to combine errands into one trip.

"This campaign is designed to help our community meet a new, stricter standard for ground-level ozone pollution," said Clark County Commissioner Lynette Boggs McDonald. "We’ve learned from past experience that public outreach has been crucial in our success at dealing with carbon monoxide and dust in the valley. The sooner we confront challenges posed by ground-level ozone, the more effective we’ll be at maintaining and protecting our air quality for years to come."

In 2004 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated Clark County and more than 400 other counties nationwide as nonattainment areas for a new eight-hour standard for ground-level ozone. The standard is more stringent than the EPA’s one-hour standard. It is designed to protect the public from exposure to ground-level ozone for longer periods of time and at lower concentrations. Clark County is required to meet the new ground-level ozone standard in 2009.

"The good news is we’re just barely over the EPA’s new ground-level ozone standard," said Christine Robinson, director of the county’s Air Quality & Environmental Management Department. "We’re doing a number of studies this summer to determine how ground-level ozone forms in the valley, but we know pollution from cars is a major source. That’s why we wanted to get the word out to drivers, in particular, that there are a few actions you can take at the pump and on the road that will go a long way toward helping our community solve this problem."

Air Quality officials estimate that close to 50 percent of the valley’s locally produced ground-level ozone pollution comes from vehicles. Campaign materials focus on three actions that can help reduce the problem:

The Southern Nevada Regional Transportation Commission agreed to donate billboard space on the backs of ten buses to assist in campaign efforts.

"There’s a natural link between clean air and transit because driving less improves air quality," said Jacob Snow, general manager of the Regional Transportation Commission. "If you can combine several errands into one trip, you’ll save time and reduce air pollution and traffic congestion."

Ozone is a gas that occurs naturally in the upper atmosphere and protects earth from the sun’s harmful ultraviolet rays. At ground level, however, ozone tends to build up during the summertime afternoon hours in Southern Nevada due to a combination of several factors, including strong sunlight, hot temperatures and pollutants from cars and other sources. Exposure to ozone can induce coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, nasal congestion and itchy eyes.

"Even in low concentrations, ground-level ozone may irritate your respiratory system and inflame the lining of your lungs like a sunburn," said Dr. Lawrence Sands, director of Community Health Services Division for the Clark County Health District. "People with respiratory illnesses such as asthma, bronchitis or emphysema are most prone to symptoms, but you need to pay attention to your own health. Healthy people who are active outdoors on days when ozone levels are moderate or high can be affected, too."

The Department of Air Quality & Environmental Management issues advisories to local media, schools, doctors’ offices and government jurisdictions if weather conditions and other factors are likely to trigger the formation of ozone, dust or carbon monoxide – the three main air pollutants of concern in the valley. Residents can sign up for advisories through Clark County’s free Direct Connect service via www.accessclarkcounty.com

The public can monitor the status of advisories by visiting the Air Quality Department’s new online air quality forecast page. Alerts are posted on the forecast page if any of the department’s 21 monitoring stations detect unhealthy levels of the pollutant at a single site in the valley over a specific period of time set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Several other suggested actions to reduce ground-level ozone pollution also are vehicle or transit related. They include:

More tips to reduce the formation of ground-level ozone pollution are posted on Air Quality’s website. Las Vegas-based Thomas Puckett Advertising created the campaign with help from county staff and Clark County Television (CCTV) Channel 4. Channel 4 staff shot, edited and directed the commercial.