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Department of Ecology News Release - April 30, 2001
01-065
YAKIMA - "Real time" air-quality information is now available to Ellensburg-area residents by logging on to an Internet site managed by the Washington State Department of Ecology.
A new air sampler has been installed at the Hal Holmes Center that continuously measures small pollution particles in the air. Results from the sampler are transmitted via telephone lines, and the data are available almost immediately at https://fortress.wa.gov/ecy/enviwa/. (Link updated 01/18/07)
The new sampler provides measurements of small pollution particles, known as PM10 particles, that are a form of air pollution monitored nationwide.
"The dirty air associated with these fine particles has long been associated with health problems as well as creating the smog that obscures scenic vistas," said David Schneider, an education and outreach specialist for Ecology's central region. "The toxins we breathe, such as wood smoke, hitchhike their way into our lungs aboard these particles, where they can be absorbed into our bodies."
In addition to the new automated sampler, manual air samples will continue to be taken every few days at the Holmes Center. The manual data are subjected to a more rigorous validation regimen before results are released.
"We hope this additional air quality data will not only inform citizens, but also empower them," said Sue Billings, the air quality manager in Ecology's central region. "As people learn more about their air quality, they can make better decisions about activities that contribute to air pollution in the first place."
Contact: Joye Redfield-Wilder, public information manager, (509) 575-2610; pager, (509) 574-0490
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
