Sun Safety

[Anchor Lead]

It’s starting to feel a lot like summer! Which means that ozone and ultraviolet rays have taken over from fine dust as the immediate danger surrounding us. Staying safe is not so difficult with a little awareness.

[Pkg]

The ozone concentration levels keep rising due to the sunny weather. On Thursday, the ozone concentration level in Seoul soared to 0.094 ppm, meaning the "Bad" level had been reached. This year alone, ozone alerts have been issued 72 times.

[Soundbite] Lee Jung-mi : "I can see and feel fine dust, but I can't tell when ozone levels are high."

Ozone is formed when air pollutants such as car emissions are combined with strong ultraviolet rays. Masks are of zero help in preventing damage from high ozone concentrations, because it's invisible. Although masks can catch fine dust particles using static electricity, they cannot filter out ozone, which is a gas of molecular structure.

[Soundbite] Prof. Lim Young-wook(Yonsei University) : "Masks do not help to reduce ozone exposure, because it's a gas that easily permeates respiratory organs."

The best way to avoid ozone in the summer is to stay indoors between 2 and 5 p.m., the time when concentration levels are the highest.