HOUSTON (AP) - Breathing easier could soon be a reality in the
Houston area, thanks to industry smog cleanup efforts and weather.
     
The Houston Chronicle reports the region for the first time
could meet federal limits for lung-irritating smog, based on a
three-year running average.
     
The Environmental Protection Agency says the data is preliminary
and will be reviewed. EPA spokesman David Bary says the initial
information indicates "the news is good."
     
Ozone, the key ingredient in smog, is produced when nitrogen
oxides and volatile organic compounds, which are released from
vehicles and smokestacks, heat in sunlight.
     
The limit is 84 parts per billion, or 84 molecules of ozone for
every billion molecules of air. Houston's air, once considered
dirtiest in the country, measured 84 parts per billion through
Monday.
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Information from: Houston Chronicle,
http://www.houstonchronicle.com
     
     
(Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)
     
AP-NY-11-03-09 0846EST