The warm weather that we yearn for in the depths of winter is finally here, but with it comes a serious health threat: ground-level ozone. Weather, geography and our modern lifestyle conspire to create a serious air pollution threat from ozone here in Maine. It can affect the health of people young and old, healthy and sick. It affects our ability to exercise and to enjoy the great Maine outdoors. And thanks to a recent decision by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, the threat of ground-level ozone to our health is being deliberately and knowingly understated by the government.

Ozone is an insidious air pollutant. It is a powerfully strong irritant that damages the linings of the lungs. Some in the medical community call it “a sunburn on the lungs.” Repeated exposure can reduce lung function, trigger asthma attacks and aggravate chronic lung diseases like COPD. People who are exposed to ozone often experience coughing, throat irritation and-or an uncomfortable sensation in the chest.

Ozone is not only invisible; it is only produced on sunny, warm days – the very days we want to be outside and active. The pollution from millions of cars, thousands of factories and hundreds of fossil-fueled power plants upwind of Maine in the northeastern U.S. get baked in the atmosphere and turn into ozone by the time the air reaches Maine. That’s why an otherwise pristine place like Isle au Haut in Acadia National Park far out in Penobscot Bay can record astonishingly high and unhealthful ozone levels during the summer.

Earlier this year, the EPA revised the ozone standard by which it determines when the ozone in air has reached unhealthful levels. But rather than accept the unanimous recommendation of the agency’s own Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee of 60 to 70 parts per billion, the EPA chose to reduce the standard from 84 to only 75 ppb.

The difference is significant. Last summer, Maine had eight days when ozone reached unhealthful levels based on the old 84 ppb standard. If the EPA had adopted the recommendations of its own committee for the standard most protective of public health, the number of unhealthful ozone alert days would have been 41 – more than a third of Maine’s entire summer. Under the new EPA standard, the unhealthful days last summer would have totaled only 14, clearly understating the problem.

The American Lung Association of Maine, working in conjunction with Lung Associations throughout New England, is taking up the fight for healthful air. We believe we all have the right to breathe healthful air – and be accurately informed when our air is unhealthful. We have joined with others to sue the EPA for a more protective standard for ozone.

We have also established a place for people to check on the quality of their air, www.ownyourair.org. You can click on any New England state and find out the current and forecast levels of ozone for your particular area of the state. You can also find out how you can reduce your contribution to ozone pollution as well as tips on when to exercise on ozone alert days (hint: Early in the day is best).

Unfortunately, the bottom line is that we cannot currently count on the information provided by the EPA to adequately protect our lung health. Until the EPA returns to its core mission and puts science ahead of politics, the Lung Association urges you to get educated, get active and get air quality information that protects people, not polluters.

Mark Ishkanian of Readfield is chairman of the American Lung Association of Maine board of directors. He is also the director of corporate communications for Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Maine.