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Iowans may be seeing more blue skies and less smog along with the
rest of the country, thanks to new Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
regulations that place tighter restrictions on small-particle
pollution.
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| A UHL air quality specialist checks the filter in the air monitoring system at
a Muscatine station. |
The regulations announced last month drop the allowable limit on the
level of fine particulates from 65 micrograms per cubic meter of air to
35. High levels of this inhalable dust may cause difficulty in
breathing, asthma and heart-related problems. The EPA requires counties
that exceed the new, lower level to receive a warning and, if left
uncorrected, additional emission restrictions.
"This has been a good year in Iowa as far as pollution events; we
haven't had many," says Jeff Wasson, UHL program manager for air quality.
"With the new pollution regulations, though, Iowa may be affected because
past monitoring data indicated that some counties are not going to be in
compliance with the standard." Monitoring of air quality in Iowa is a collaborative effort. The
Department of Natural Resources contracts UHL to regularly monitor the
air quality in some 20 counties around the state. Members of the UHL
air quality team collect data and maintain the sites during weekly
visits to each location. In some areas where air quality approaches
maximum levels, a combination of daily and hourly monitors are used to
better track current conditions. UHL then reports its readings directly
to EPA.
Those readings along with a wealth of other information are available
on the
air quality section of the UHL website.
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| UHL regularly monitors Iowa air quality from stations in the 20
counties highlighted in blue. Go to the
air quality
section of the UHL website for readings. |
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