DEP Warns Residents of Air Quality

The Department of Environmental Protection and its regional air quality partnerships have forecast an air quality action day for today, in Pennsylvania’s five forecasting regions.

On air quality action days, young children, the elderly and those with respiratory problems, such as asthma, emphysema and bronchitis, are especially vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit outdoor activities.

The air quality forecast predicts Wednesday to be code ORANGE for ozone in the Pittsburgh, Liberty/Clairton, Susquehanna Valley, Lehigh Valley/Berks and Philadelphia regions.

The Philadelphia region includes Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery and Philadelphia counties.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standardized air quality index uses colors to report daily air quality. Green signifies good; yellow means moderate; orange represents unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive people; and red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for all.

Ground-level ozone, a key component of smog, forms during warm weather when pollution from vehicles, industry, households and power plants “bakes” in the hot sun, making it hard for some people to breathe.

Fine particulate matter, or PM 2.5, has a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometers, about one-thirtieth the diameter of a human hair. These particles can get deep into the lungs and cause significant health problems. PM 2.5 has been determined to be most closely associated with health effects related to increased hospital admissions and emergency room visits for heart and lung disease, increased respiratory symptoms and disease, and decreased lung function.

To help keep the air healthy, residents and businesses are encouraged to voluntarily limit certain pollution-producing activities by taking the following steps:

• Ride the bus or carpool to work
• Wash dishes and clothes only with full loads
• Save energy by turning off unused lights in your home