° Ground-level ozone is one of the most serious and pervasive air pollutants injuring vegetation in the GSMNP (National Park Service briefing statement.)

° Visibility in the GSMNP has been reduced by as much as 80 percent (National Parks and Conservation Association.)

° Winds coming into the southern Appalachian Mountains carry pollutants from as far away as the Tennessee, Ohio, and Mississippi River Valleys, the industrial cities of the Southwest and Midwest, the Gulf States and the Northeast. The height and structure of the mountains, combined with predominant weather patterns, tend to trap and concentrate air currents entering the southern Appalachians (National Park Service briefing statement.)

° Western North Carolina has among the state’s highest age-adjusted mortality rates for pneumonia, influenza and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease as well as increased rates of asthma and acute respiratory disease for children and adults ( NC Chapter, Sierra Club.)

° The park [GSMNP] receives some of the highest deposition rates of sulfur and nitrogen of all monitored locations in North America (National Park Service briefing statement.)