Voluntary Steps in Helping Prevent Ozone
Actions that citizens, businesses and industries can take to help prevent ozone pollution.
Tips for Citizens: 10 Things You Can Do
- Share a ride to work or school.
- Avoid morning rush-hour traffic.
- Walk or ride a bicycle.
- Take your lunch to work or school.
- Combine errands into one trip.
- Avoid drive-through lanes.
- Postpone refueling until after 6 p.m.
- Don't top off your gas tank when refueling.
- Postpone using gas engines such as lawnmowers until after 6 p.m.
- Keep your vehicle properly tuned to keep exhaust levels low.
Tips for Business and Industry:
Small Steps, Big Solutions
- Shift work schedules to allow employees to avoid morning rush-hour traffic.
- Allow employees to work at home (telecommuting).
- Offer bus passes.
- For employees who rideshare or use public transportation, provide a guaranteed emergency ride home.
- Carpool to lunch and meetings.
- Schedule meetings that don't require driving (meet on site or make conference calls).
- Offer free drinks at your cafeteria to encourage employees to eat at work.
- Postpone fueling fleet vehicles until after 6 p.m.
- Postpone working with mowers, bulldozers, backhoes, tractors, and other two-cycle engine activities.
- Delay painting, degreasing, tank cleaning, ground maintenance, and road repair.
- Postpone routine flaring or venting of hydrocarbons.
- Postpone the loading and hauling of volatile organic compound (VOC).
- Postpone VOC-producing activities such as chemical treatment and catalyst preparation.
- Switch loads to fired heaters or boilers with low nitrogen oxide burners.
