Children Seen at Risk to Ozone Danger

CHICAGO — The federal standard for ozone pollution is too lax to protect children, the nation’s largest group of pediatricians said Tuesday. “Levels of ozone which are commonly found on summer afternoons can be dangerous to exercising children,” said Dr. Ruth A. Etzel of the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Ozone inflames lung tissue, hampering breathing. It is the chief ingredient in smog. Families should encourage their children to exercise early in the day, when ozone levels are lowest, Etzel said.

The academy said in the journal Pediatrics that the U.S. government should consider toughening its ozone standard of 0.12 parts per million of air. It did not identify a new standard.