Air quality in the Mid-Atlantic Region is generally good, but ozone levels often become unhealthy in the summertime. Understanding what causes high levels of ozone in the air we breathe, and taking steps to prevent air pollution, are two of the most important duties of state and local air pollution control agencies in the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Ozone problems occur in broad, multi-state regions because summer weather patterns that help form ozone affect large areas, transporting ozone and the pollutants that cause ozone from one state to the next. Ozone affects both urban and rural areas, and t he highest levels of pollution often occur downwind of major urban areas.