About
San Antonio is home to a pleasant, warm climate, booming economy and growing population. In fact, San Antonio stands to welcome one million more residents by the year 2040. With these new residents come challenges for transportation, providing services and keeping the air we breathe clean.
San Antonio's air doesn't look dirty, but the truth is we have surpassed the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) health-based clean air standards. We must work together to reduce pollution and clean up our air. Clean air benefits the entire community.
Specifically, Bexar County is in exceedance of ground-level ozone standards. Ground-level ozone forms when Nitrogen Oxides (such as from burning fossil fuels in combustion engines) combine with Volatile Organic Compounds in the air and sunlight to make ozone.
Emissions from industrial facilities and electric utilities, motor vehicle exhaust, gasoline vapors and chemical solvents are some of the major sources of oxides of nitrogen (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC).
Consequences of Air Pollution
Put simply, air pollution damages lung tissue in ways similar to secondhand tobacco smoke. Air pollution triggers heart attacks and strokes. It causes diseases like bronchitis and lung cancer. It sends people to the emergency room with respiratory problems such as asthma attacks.
Beyond impacting your health, poor air quality is bad for our economy. A stricter federal air quality standard means additional regulations for businesses that want to expand or relocate to San Antonio, putting new jobs and investment in the area at risk. Join us as we work together to clean up our air quality.
Help Clean Up Our Air
Here are some easy ways to improve our air quality:
- Drive less by combining errands into as few trips as possible, consider carpooling, use public transportation, walk or take a bike.
- Conserve fuel by doing the following:
- Reduce idling of your vehicle by parking instead of utilizing drive-through.
- Avoid aggressive driving by starting and stopping your vehicle gradually.
- Drive the posted speed limit.
- Shut off the engine while waiting outside of schools, businesses and other waiting areas.
- Keep excess weight out of your vehicle.
- Don't continue to fill your gas tank after the pump has automatically shut off and seal the gas cap tightly.
- When possible, plan ahead to avoid traffic delays by anticipating construction and other congested areas or leave earlier or later than rush hours to avoid traffic.
Prevent Ozone Formation
Follow these practices to help prevent ozone formation on any day, but specially during Ozone Action Days:
- Limit driving and idling. Instead, carpool, combine errands, use public transportation, bike or walk.
- Refuel your vehicle in the late afternoon or evening and don't top off the tank.
- Keep your vehicle maintained, including proper tire pressure.
- Maintain your yard equipment, including changing the oil and replacing air filters regularly.
- Consider using tools without gasoline motors. Hand tools such as shears, edgers and push mowers are lightweight, quiet and easy to use and do not generate emissions.
- Don't burn yard waste.
- Use paint and cleaning products with less or zero Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
Residents can reduce risks associated with high ozone levels by signing up to receive daily air quality forecasts and ozone alerts from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
Ozone Action Days
From March through November, we want the entire community to join together to support clean air for all. Be part of our Ozone Action Days by working with us to reduce emissions and help everyone breathe easier!
The Ozone Action Day Plan establishes guidelines and procedures for reducing emissions of ozone-forming compounds into the atmosphere, both on “Ozone Action Days" as well as throughout the ozone season (March 1 - November 30).
City Departments, through voluntary compliance with the Ozone Action Day Plan, will modify certain activities on Ozone Action Days. Read more about the Ozone Action Day Plan(PDF, 1MB).
Ozone Effects on Your Health
Ozone in the air can be harmful to your health, especially on hot, sunny days.
Even relatively low levels of ozone can cause health problems and can be serious in people with respiratory diseases such as asthma. Groups, including children, the elderly and outdoor workers are most sensitive to increased levels of ozone.
Health Impacts of Ozone Pollution
A 2017 City of San Antonio study found that approximately 24 deaths could be avoided annually if San Antonio air quality improves to a lower level than the EPA's standard. The avoided cost of these deaths is estimated to be $220 million.
Read the full report: How Ozone Pollution Affects Public Health in San Antonio.(PDF, 4MB)
Resources
Non-Attainment Information
The EPA announced that Bexar County will be moved from Marginal to Moderate Nonattainment for ozone. This new designation will mean that Bexar County businesses and residents will be required to comply with new EPA air quality regulations. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) will have the regulatory role to enforce EPA’s Clean Air Act regulations. These regulations are federal law that regulate air emissions from stationary and mobile sources.
The TCEQ will prepare a State Implementation Plan (SIP) for Bexar County by a deadline set by EPA. The purpose of the SIP is to provide a comprehensive plan to clean the air and meet federal air quality standards.
The City of San Antonio will not have a regulatory role to enforce the TCEQ SIP. Metro Health will continue with educational efforts with the public and work with facilities that have air emissions on reducing ozone.
Despite significant ozone level improvements over the past decades, continued focus on air quality is needed to reach the health-based standard established by the EPA. Local stakeholders are working closely together to prioritize action steps to reduce emissions that contribute to ground-level ozone and minimize pollution exposure. Partners include Bexar County, Alamo Area Council of Governments, Alamo Area Metropolitan Planning Organization, VIA Metropolitan Transit, CPS Energy, Joint Base San Antonio (JBSA), independent school districts and other community-based organizations.
Funding opportunities for emissions-reducing opportunities are available through the TCEQ. They also have these resources:
Air Quality Index (AQI)
The AQI is an index for reporting daily air quality. It tells you how clean or polluted your air is, and what associated health problems might be a concern for you. The AQI focuses on health problems you may experience within a few hours or days after breathing polluted air.
The EPA calculates the AQI for five major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act:
- ground-level ozone
- particle pollution (also known as particulate matter)
- carbon monoxide
- sulfur dioxide
- nitrogen dioxide
For each of these pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect public health.
Ground-level ozone is the pollutant of concern in the San Antonio area that poses the greatest threat to human health.
The EPA has assigned a specific color to each AQI category to make it easier for people to understand quickly whether air pollution is reaching unhealthy levels in their communities. You can find out the daily AQI levels of health concern for San Antonio at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's "Today’s Texas Air Quality Forecast."
| AQI Levels of Health Concern |
Numerical Value |
Meaning |
| Good |
0 to 50 |
Air quality is considered satisfactory, and air pollution poses little or no risk. |
| Moderate |
51 to 100 |
Air quality is acceptable. However, for some pollutants there may be a moderate health concern for a very small number of people who are unusually sensitive to air pollution. |
| Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups |
101 to 150 |
Members of sensitive groups may experience health effects. The general public is not likely to be affected. |
| Unhealthy |
151 to 200 |
Everyone may begin to experience health effects. Members of sensitive groups may experience more serious health effects. |
| Very Unhealthy |
201 to 300 |
Health alert: everyone may experience more serious health effects. |
| Hazardous |
301 to 500 |
Health warnings of emergency conditions. The entire population is more likely to be affected. |