CHARLESTON, W.Va. (May 1, 2020) – The West
Virginia Department of Environmental Protection’s (WVDEP) Division of Air
Quality (DAQ) announces that National Air Quality Awareness Week will be May 4
through 8. The DAQ encourages all West
Virginians to check the Air Quality Index (AQI) to find the best time of day to
be active outdoors, while maintaining proper social distancing.
The AQI calculates health effects for five
major air pollutants regulated by the Clean Air Act – ground-level ozone, particle
pollution (also known as particulate matter), carbon monoxide, sulfur dioxide
and nitrogen dioxide. For each of these
pollutants, EPA has established national air quality standards to protect
public health.
The DAQ maintains a Statewide network for monitoring
air quality. Air monitors located around
the State record the concentrations of major pollutants. These raw measurements are then converted
into an AQI value, using standard formulas developed by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency. The
reported index is updated on DAQ’s website (www.dep.wv.gov/daq/air-monitoring/Pages/AirQualityIndex.aspx),
Monday through Friday, and is also available at www.airnow.gov.
In support of at-home environmental education
during these unprecedented times, members of DAQ’s outreach team have developed
educational videos featuring:
·
Division
of Air Quality (older students) – What we do and why we do;
·
History of
Air Pollution (younger students) – Past issues of air pollution and the
progress that has been made;
·
History of
Air Pollution (older students) – The history of air pollution, early measures
to correct it and disasters resulting from air quality problems;
·
DAQ Outreach
Demos (all age groups) – demonstrations of air pollution control devices and
acid rain mitigation; and,
·
Why is
Coco Orange? (recommended for ages 4 to 8) – a read along with Coco and his
friends as they solve a mystery and learn about air quality.
All videos are available at: https://bit.ly/2VNFd6V. For more information, contact Stephanie
Hammonds, Information Management/Outreach Manager for the DAQ (Stephanie.E.Hammonds@wv.gov).
Additionally, the United State Environmental
Protection Agency will post online activities, videos and print-at-home
materials for students and teachers to celebrate Air Quality Awareness Week. For more information, visit the AirNow
Education Resources page at https://www.airnow.gov/education/.
For more WVDEP news and
information, go to www.dep.wv.gov. Also, connect with the agency on
all social media platforms. Follow @DEPWV on Twitter, Like us on Facebook
at https://www.facebook.com/depwv/, and find us on YouTube by
searching “Environment Matters.”
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