Air quality forecasts now available by e-mail

National Air Quality Awareness Week 2010 has just ended, but Pinal County and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency want to enhance public awareness by offering a way to get local air quality forecasts directly to your email account. 

You can sign up at www.enviroflash.info. You can choose to receive an air quality forecast report daily, or only when health risks rise.
 
The EPA established the Air Quality Index (AQI) system as an easy to understand way to recognize air quality risks. A color-coding system reflects risk, ranging from green (good) to red (hazardous), so anyone can easily see and appreciate the level of health risk associated with the day’s expected air quality. With that information, someone can decide whether they (or their children) should go to the gym or go jogging outside in the neighborhood.
 
“We project air quality data for a number of pollutants and compare expected pollution levels against the health-based National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to assess daily risk,” Pinal County Air Quality Director Don Gabrielson said. “While the types of pollutants and pollution sources may differ from region to region around the country, everyone has the same lungs and suffers the same risks from air pollution regardless of whether you live in Boston or in Pinal County.”
 
Gabrielson explained that two pollutants, namely particulate matter and ozone, represent the most prevalent risk affecting Pinal County.
 
Pinal County continues to work with stakeholders, including citizens and a variety of industries and sectors of the economy – from cattlemen to industrial parks and from power plants to homebuilders in order to improve the county’s air quality.
 
You can do your part by signing up today for free emails indicating the day’s forecasted local air quality at www.enviroflash.info.
 
Photo courtesy of Enviroflash