Wichita — Wichita city officials say Fourth of July fireworks helped push Wichita's ozone levels past federal standards on Independence Day.
The Environmental Protection Agency requires an average of less 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.
The Wichita Eagle reports that the city also exceeded the standard twice in April when winds blew smoke into the area from controlled burns in the Flint Hills and Oklahoma wildfires. Mayor Carl Brewer has asked the EPA to not count that data since it was beyond the city's control.
The higher levels on Independence Day would then be the city's first day exceeding the standard this year.
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