Health Effects from Ozone in the Eastern United States

The report analyzes the health impacts of ground-level ozone in the Eastern United States, specifically the OTAG region, using 1997 monitoring data and epidemiological concentration-response functions. It estimates that ozone exposure led to 53,000 respiratory hospital admissions, 16,000 cardiovascular hospital admissions, and 159,000 total respiratory emergency room visits during the April-October 1997 season. The analysis highlights significant uncertainty regarding mortality and chronic illness, which were excluded from the quantitative estimates. The findings are compared with a study by the American Lung Association, showing reasonably close results for respiratory admissions.

• During the period from April to October 1997, ground-level ozone in the OTAG region was associated with a mean of 53,000 respiratory hospital admissions and 16,000 cardiovascular hospital admissions.
• The analysis estimates that ozone exposure caused 159,000 total respiratory emergency room (ER) visits and 16,000 asthma-specific ER visits in the OTAG region during the 1997 season.
• Ozone exposure is linked to a high volume of minor health impacts, including a mean of 83 million days with minor symptoms for adults aged 18-65 and 6.2 million asthma attacks across all ages.
• For African-American asthmatics aged 7-12, ozone exposure was associated with a mean of 450,000 days of shortness of breath.
• The report excludes estimates for premature mortality and the onset of chronic illness due to substantial uncertainty and a lack of strong evidence compared to particulate matter.
• The estimated incidence changes for the analyzed health effects are generally less than 10% of the baseline incidence rates.
• Comparison with a 1996 American Lung Association (ALA) study shows that respiratory admission estimates are reasonably close, though they differ in city definitions and the years analyzed.

APA

Clean Air Task Force (1999). Health Effects from Ozone in the Eastern United States. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093504/Out_of_Breath.pdf

Chicago

Clean Air Task Force. Health Effects from Ozone in the Eastern United States. 1999. https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093504/Out_of_Breath.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Clean Air Task Force |title=Health Effects from Ozone in the Eastern United States |date=October 1999 |url=https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093504/Out_of_Breath.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{cleanairtaskforce1999health, author = {{Clean Air Task Force}}, title = {{Health Effects from Ozone in the Eastern United States}}, institution = {Clean Air Task Force}, year = {1999}, month = oct, url = {https://cdn.catf.us/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/21093504/Out_of_Breath.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }