Sparklers, firecrackers and flaming fountains of sparks helped push Wichita’s ozone levels past Environmental Protection Agency standards on Independence Day, city officials say.
But the city is still walking a tightrope between maintaining acceptable levels of ozone and exceeding the EPA standard, which requires an average of fewer than .075 parts per million of ozone particles during an 8-hour period. If the city has four days with 8-hour averages above that limit, it will have to produce a plan to reduce ozone that could cost taxpayers and businesses millions of dollars. Read More