Oct. 13--The air quality in the Triad region has significantly improved, as ozone levels have hit an all-time low throughout the state since officials began monitoring it in the 1970s.

The Triad, which has been on the Environmental Protection Agency's list of non-attainment areas for consistently exceeding the national ambient air quality standard and has been the second-most-polluted region in the state next to the Charlotte area, saw only one day this year surpass the EPA standards for ozone levels.

The average number of days exceeding the current standard during the past decade has been 27, with the highest levels recorded in 2000, when 54 days were in excess. These trends reflect the numbers for the entire state.

"We are happy with the way in which air quality is heading in the Triad," said Cary Gentry, senior environmental specialist at the Forsyth County Environmental Affairs Department.

The EPA places an emphasis on ozone levels because it has the most harmful human health impact. It is known to cause respiratory problems and increase the risk of asthma when levels are chronically high.

Individuals with irritable lungs are more susceptible to colds and people with asthma and emphysema are more at risk of having an attack during high level ozone days.

In recent years, the state has clamped down on air quality measures with a number of laws enacted to reduce the emissions of coal-burning industries and power plants, which are among the biggest contributors of ozone pollution.

Other federal mandates have also made a difference by implementing cleaner-burning fuels and morestringent standards for gasoline and diesel engines in new vehicles. The Triad's biggest polluters, especially in Alamance County, are cars and trucks, said Tom Mather, spokesman for the state's Division of Air Quality.

"We are seeing a cumulative effect of the controls put in place," Gentry said. "It takes a few years for the atmosphere to clean out."

The economic downturn may have also had an impact on the levels, Mather said, though not so significantly as "industrial production is ground across the state" and people are using their cars more conservatively.

The three biggest fixedpoint polluters in the Alamance area over the last decade have consistently been New South Lumber in Graham, International Textile Group in Burlington and Stericycle in Haw River. Though, Mather adds, the pollution coming from cars and trucks exceeds the combined pollution coming from all three of these businesses.

The winds have also traditionally played a role in bringing pollution to the Triad.

"We are in a unique situation because we are at the base of the mountains," Gentry said.

The southwest winds that flow across the highly polluted areas of Charlotte and Atlanta and into the Triad retain some amount of those toxins.

Another factor leading to the drop in ozone levels is the summer heat, which has played a major factor, Gentry said. Typically, ozone levels are highest when pollutants react in the hot, dry summers, but this one was moister and cooler on average.

"The weather was favorable to air quality this year," Mather said.

For information on daily ozone levels, log on to www. airnow.gov, and for information and tables showing statewide ozone levels and the reduction in emissions, log on to www.ncair.gov

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Copyright (c) 2009, Times-News, Burlington, N.C.

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