About Us:

THE AIR WE BREATHE is a collaborative effort of the Spartanburg Area Chamber of Commerce, the Spartanburg Development Association, Upstate Forever, and Spartanburg County government, to reduce ground‐level ozone and other forms of air pollution in Spartanburg County. The goal of this campaign is to inform the general public about the impacts of ozone on community health, economic development and overall quality of life, and the easy behavioral changes they can make in their daily lives to decrease ground-level ozone.

Spartanburg is a community rich with parks, waterways, and other recreational resources. But for asthma sufferers and other at-risk people, high-ozone days can make the outdoors anything but hospitable.

In addition to the health effects of ground level ozone, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has told Spartanburg County that it must reduce levels of ozone pollution or face possible consequences that could include the loss of federal highway funds and restrictions on new industry – and that means Spartanburg could miss out on much needed jobs for local workers.

National Ambient Air Quality Standards
In March of 2010 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) were to be lowered to 0.075, but now EPA is proposing to strengthen the 8-hour “primary” ozone standard, designed to protect public health, to a level within the range of 0.060-0.070 parts per million (ppm).   read more