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ADEQ launches research initiative to address ozone levels in Maricopa and Pinal Counties

A view of a layer of smog pollution from the summit of Piestewa Peak in Phoenix.
Getty Images
A view of a layer of smog pollution from the summit of Piestewa Peak in Phoenix.

The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality is launching a new research initiative that will bring together leading air quality experts to address rising ground-level ozone concentrations in Maricopa County and parts of Pinal County.

The Ground Level Ozone Research (GLOR) Project includes a team of people from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, NASA, Maricopa County, Maricopa Association of Governments, Arizona State University and the University of Arizona.

ADEQ Deputy Director Karen Peters said air quality has actually improved over the past several years in Phoenix, but federal ozone air quality standards have, at the same time, become more stringent.

“While the emissions have gone down, the ozone has actually increased over the last several years," Peters said. 'We are launching this scientific effort so that we can understand what is causing that odd diversion.”

Peters added that the Phoenix and Mesa areas have not been able to demonstrate attainment with the federal air quality standards for ozone for many years.

“The problem with ozone non-attainment is that ozone is not a directly emitted pollutant. You have to measure other pollutants that combine in the atmosphere and create ozone.”

Ozone at ground level is a harmful air pollutant, because of its effects on people and the environment. Peters expects the work to be completed over the course of a year.

"The clean air act requires that we meet specific deadlines for submission of our plans for attainment with the standards," Peters said. "We have to put forward a plan to the Environmental Protection Agency in January of 2026."

Senior field correspondent Bridget Dowd has a bachelor’s degree from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication.