The warm months of the Air Quality Season, May 1 - September 30 have the highest rates of ground level ozone air pollution. The warm temperatures heats up the emissions from vehicles, factories, power plants and other sources which can cause an increase in the Ozone air pollution.

When the air pollution reaches a certain level we can have an exceedance (bad air day) of our air quality standard and we will call for an Air Quality Action Day. During an Action Day the public is ask to take a number of voluntary measures to help reduce the air pollution in our area.

An increase in air pollution can affect a number of people that have certain health conditions such as asthma, respiratory problems, heart conditions and other medical problems. By working together we can all help reduce the air pollution in Lexington and Central Kentucky.

At a news conference at Maine Chance Farm in Lexington on Friday, 8/17/07 (along with a number of other excellent projects) Mr. Stan Cave of the Governor’s Office announced the award of a Federal Congestion Mitigation Air Quality grant for a Biodiesel Storage Tank.  This is great news as the storage tank is an important key to the success of the Fayette County Biodiesel Fuels program. The storage tank project is a very important public/private partnership and helps assure the United States Environmental Protection Agency of the positive measures being taken in Fayette County to address Particulate Matter (PM) pollution situation.  Lexington Mayor Newberry is very supportive of these efforts and the increased use of Biodiesel fuels by the appropriate Divisions within the Lexington Fayette Urban County Government.   

Please click here to learn about the air pollution reduction and other environmental programs that help to protect the environment and the quality of life in the Lexington/Central Kentucky area.

Please click the "Cleaner Air Community" box to learn more about the voluntary actions we can all take to reduce air pollution.

Forecasting and Monitoring of the

2007 Air Quality Season

The 2007 Air Quality Season, May 1 – September 30, and the monitoring of the Lexington area’s Air Quality levels ended on September 30, 2007. The warm months of May – September have the highest levels of air pollution  The Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning Organization staff employed in the LFUCG, Division of Planning uses an Ozone and Particulate Matter (PM) air pollution forecasting model to predict the Air Quality Index level for the next day. A 3-day forecast was completed on Fridays.

An email announcing an Air Quality Action Day is sent to the media and local, state and federal government officials when the air quality level is forecast to reaches the level of unhealthy for sensitive groups which is an exceedance of the air quality standard. The Action Day bulletins are sent for both Ozone and PM air pollution. The Action Day bulletins promote the voluntary efforts we can all take to help reduced air pollution.  

The daily forecast is updated daily, May 1 – September 30, and can be found by visiting the Lexington Area MPO web site, the LFUCG Air Quality web site and the EPA AIRNOW web site. By the end of September 153 days of air quality season forecast had been completed.

During the 153 days of the 2007 Air Quality Season, there was one (1) exceedances of the Ozone air quality standard and seven (7) of the PM standard in the Lexington area. During the summer of 2007 there were a number of days during the Air Quality Season when the air temperature was over 90 and even 100 degrees. Hot, dry temperatures generate the weather conditions that produce exceedances of the air quality standard.

Considering, the record high temperatures in Central Kentucky having only one (1) exceedance of the Ozone air quality standard speaks well for the local and state wide Ozone air pollution reduction efforts.  A contributing factor in the seven (7) exceedances of the PM standard is the fact that the pollution level for PM pollution has been lowered from .065 parts per billion (PPB) of concentration to .036 PPB. With this in mind, the MPO/Division of Planning staff must continue to work and promote programs and projects that reduce both Ozone and PM air pollution.   

Related Links:

• Traffic Information Network
• Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
• Jefferson Co. Air Pollution Control District
• KY Division for Air Quality
• Clean Cities Home Page
• Kentucky Business Environmental Assistance Program

Contact Information:
For more information on the local Ozone Alert Program or to learn more about the transportation alternatives available to you, call the Lexington Bluegrass Mobility Office at (859) 233-7665 or send email.

Lexington Area MPO
200 East Main Street
Lexington, KY 40507
Tel: (859) 233-POOL (7665)
Fax: (859) 258-3163
davids3@lfucg.com