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Department of Ecology News Release - Jan. 3, 2005
05-001
SPOKANE - A team of state, federal and university air-quality specialists is launching a study of toxic air pollution in the urbanized parts of the Spokane region.
Beginning tomorrow, air-quality monitors installed at four sites will collect air samples that will be analyzed regularly in a laboratory. The study will take 2.5 years.
The state Department of Ecology (Ecology) will manage the project in cooperation with the Spokane County Air Pollution Control Authority (SCAPCA), Washington State University, the University of Washington and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
"Because of the weather, the geography and the sources of air pollution typical in an urban area, Spokane is prone to frequent episodes of elevated air pollution," said Grant Pfeifer, who manages Ecology's air quality program in Spokane.
Researchers will look for several pollutants, including volatile organic compounds such as benzene, ethylene dibromide and formaldehyde, and several types of toxic metals that cling to tiny particles in the air. The metals studied will include arsenic, cadmium, lead and others.
SCAPCA Director Eric Skelton added that the region also is affected by several different types of outdoor burning at various times of the year.
"Add to all this the area's incidence of asthma, and it's easy to see why we need to find out more about the problem and then consider how to solve it," Skelton said.
According to Pfeifer, researchers will get a better understanding of how much of this chemical pollution is in the air and from where it is coming.
Monitors are located at Lincoln Park, Hillyard, Millwood and at Gonzaga University. Researchers will be able to see the difference between pollution levels in city-center locations, locations with higher industrial and commercial activity, and high-traffic centers.
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Contact: Jani Gilbert, public information manager, 509-329-3495; pager, 509-622-3073
Copyright © Washington State Department of Ecology. See http://www.ecy.wa.gov/copyright.html.
