Sunday, February 3, 2008

Another Dirty Air Alert, Sunday, For Entire State

Remember as you read these alarmingly repetitive alerts about bad quality air in Wisconsin that the state has petitioned the US Environmental Protection Agency to weaken air quality standards in southeastern Wisconsin - - where the largest share of industrial and vehicle emissions are produced.

Here is the text of Sunday's all-state alert:

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an Air Quality Watch for Particle Pollution effective Sunday, February 03, 2008 12:01:00 AM through Sunday, February 03, 2008 11:59:59 PM for all counties.

The watch is being issued because of the forecast for elevated levels of fine particles in the air. Fine particle pollution is composed of microscopic dust, soot, liquid droplets and smoke particles that are 2.5 microns or smaller.

These fine particles come primarily from combustion sources, such as power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and outdoor fires.

The Air Quality Index is forecast to reach the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups.


People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an air quality watch is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities during the watch period..

People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis and heart disease should pay attention to cardiac symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms.

Fine particle pollution deposits itself deep into the lungs and cannot easily be exhaled. People who are at risk are particularly vulnerable after several days of high particle pollution exposure.

To receive air quality advisories by e-mail, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/air/newsletters/.

There are several actions the public can take to reduce their contributions to this regional air quality problem.

Reduce driving when possible and don't leave vehicle engines idling.

Postpone activities that use small gasoline and diesel engines.

Minimize outdoor wood fires.

Conserve electricity.

For more ideas on how you can reduce your emissions today and every day visit: Do a little, save a lot!

For more information:

Federal interagency air quality web site, for information on the Air Quality Index and nationwide air quality forecasts and air quality conditions, http://airnow.gov/

DNR's statewide air quality monitoring web page, http://dnrmaps.wisconsin.gov/wisards

for local DNR air management program co
ntacts, http://dnr.wi.gov/air/about/regions.htm

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Yawwwwnnnn. And not a single person will even notice.

James Rowen said...

To Anon.
Nice.

Anonymous said...

Excellant Post with great links for further reading.

Anonymous said...

I posted this our church's discussion group. I hope it was ok to link your post:

Has anyone else noticed that the melting snow recently has a yellowish color to it? It seems that whether it's from my driveway or across town at a customer's house, the slush seems to look somewhat golden when you throw it onto the white pile. Water dripping from roofs left a yellow color on the snow below.
I was catching up on old newspapers today and noticed the alert from WI DNR about air quality from last Sunday. It was for particulate matter, which affects certain people in a serious way.
The DNR said "the conditions are considered unhealthy for people with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. Those people are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities."

http://thepoliticalenvironment.blogspot.com/2008/02/another-dirty-air-alert-sunday-for.html

Maybe the latest snow storm took all of that stuff down with it (?). DNR reports no advisories now:

Current Alerts
There are currently no Watches or Advisories in effect as of 8:53 pm on Friday, February 8th 2008. http://www.dnr.state.wi.us/air/aq/health/status.asp


This site also reports, regarding particulate matter in the air:
How Can I help?
Reduce driving when possible and don't leave vehicle engines idling.
Postpone activities that use small gasoline and diesel engines.
Minimize outdoor wood fires.
Conserve electricity.
For more ideas on how you can reduce your emissions today and every day visit: Do a little, save a lot!
Maybe something else contributed to the yellow snow, including my imagination and things we don't want to talk about, but the suggestions above make sense to me anyway.

Jeff

James Rowen said...

Hi, Jeff;
Sure, that's fine. These DNR alerts are getting all too frequent.
Worse: the state has asked the Us EPA to relax air quality standards in our region even as the evidence accumulates that the air quality is worsening.
Thanks for being a reader and leaving the comment. You are always free to use this material. That's why it is there.