What are VOCs and NOx gasses and how do they effect me?
VOCs are created by human activities and, are more concentrated in urban areas. Major sources of VOCs include motor vehicle exhaust, and emissions from the chemical and petroleum industries. NOx is also produced by human activity with the major sources of emissions being the combustion of fossil fuels in motor vehicles and power plants. In Florida’s urban areas, 50 percent of hydrocarbons and almost 50 percent of nitrogen oxides, come from motor vehicles. A large proportion of nitrogen oxides also comes from power plants and industrial plants. Ground level ozone is formed by the chemical reaction of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides (NOx) in the presence of sunlight. These gasses react with each other to produce ozone, especially during warm weather. The counties that are at a greater risk of ground level ozone pollution, or smog, are Pinellas, Hillsboro, DeSoto, Palm Beach, Broward and Miami-Dade. This is because of the great number of people and automobiles.
