How does pollution from Asia and Europe impact our air quality? UW Madison professor Tracey Holloway says a recent study finds that up to fifteen percent of U.S. air pollution originates from Asian and European sources, findings that ought to figure in, when policy makers in the U.S. try to reduce pollution levels.
Unlike the beneficial atmospheric ozone which protects us against skin cancer, ground level ozone is a negative impact on human health and agriculture. While impacts are worse on the West Coast, Wisconsin does receive its share of foreign pollution. The researchers at UW's Nelson Institute for Environmental Studies found that foreign sources accounted for a smaller percentage of ozone on really bad air quality days, and more on days that were not so bad.