Information released during the most recent public comment period (which began in June 2007) indicates that the standard could be little changed from its current level of 80 ppb, or might be somewhat lower, in the range of 70-75 ppb. Many public health officials are pushing for a more protective standard of about 60 ppb. EPA scientific evidence indicates that some people can be harmed at levels as low as 40 ppb.
If the standard is made more protective, more U.S. cities and counties likely will be considered out of compliance, and could face substantial economic penalties, such as the loss of federal funds. For a list of counties currently tagged as "nonattainment," see EPA's 8-Hour Ground-level Ozone Designations.
EPA uses monitors on the ground to measure ozone in cities and a few remote locations around the country. Based on this data, the general trend appears to be that ozone problems are largely confined to California and much of the East. However, large swaths of the western U.S. don't have monitors, resulting in the impression on databases such as AIRNow that there are no ozone problems in most of the West.
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