2007-04-17 05:10:50 · 7 answers · asked by nostrebor 3 in Science & Mathematics ➔ Earth Sciences & Geology
Ozone at ground level is not just a pollutant - it kills people!!!
Too much oxygen is a poison. Ozone at ground level merges with other pollutants to form smog - that horrible yellow haze you can often see in many cities. People with asthma and other lung or breathing problems are put at risk when breathing this in and sadly many people die each year through breathing it!
In the upper atmosphere it is very beneficial in stopping the planet getting to hot. What very few people realise is how thin it is - The ozone layer averages about 3 millimeters (1/8 inch) thick, approximately the same as two pennies stacked one on top of the other." (Source: NASA Facts)
Therefore any source of ozone at ground level is potentially bad and even life threatening and ozone in the upper atmosphere is good and if it is depleted too much that could also be life threatening!
2007-04-17 08:00:10 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
Actually ozone produced at ground level will rise, it just takes about 15 years to get to the point where it absorbs UV rays in a beneficial manner.
As for why ozone is poisonous, it's because it is 3 oxygen atoms and will attach to hemoglobin but not be available to the organism for metabolic processes.
Lightning storms also produce ozone, probably a bit more than the local photocopier. (okay a lot more)
2007-04-17 06:51:24 · answer #2 · answered by jakehardesty 2 · 0⤊ 1⤋
Cars put out ozone also and ground level ozone is considered pollution. I'm not sure if the schools are still teaching this ozone crisis, but it's replenishing on its own as I type.
2007-04-17 05:14:22 · answer #3 · answered by Gene 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
I am not sure why ozone at earth level is dangerous but up in space it is good, but I am sure that if all the governments stopped pouring money into war and into inventing and building a spacial Ozone station it would be a lot more help full to every one.
2007-04-17 05:24:43 · answer #4 · answered by ? 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
The ozone the weather man talks about is not ozone but NO2 . It behaves some like O3 but they are not the same. O3 down here would revert to O2 very quickly.
2007-04-17 08:14:49 · answer #5 · answered by JOHNNIE B 7 · 0⤊ 0⤋
We can. All we have to do is attach the copiers to the tops of ariplanes. The ozone by itself isn't light enough to get that high.
2007-04-17 05:14:54 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 0⤋
It's too hard (very uneconomical) to move the ozone from ground level to 60,000+ feet, up.
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2007-04-17 05:16:29 · answer #7 · answered by tlbs101 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋