Fine particulate pollution in the vicinity of Garfield Elementary School, Muscatine, exceeds the air quality standards designed to protect public health, according to the 2007-2009 monitoring results released Tuesday (April 13) by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
“It’s time to put to rest the notion that economic growth and environmental protection are incompatible," U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator Lisa Jackson said today in a speech before the National Press Club in Washington.
If you've been thinking there have been more air quality alerts in recent months, you would right.
Air quality standards for fine particulate matter (particles less than 2.5 micrometers) in Iowa have been exceeded at 35 locations through Febuary 26, already surpassing the 34 exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standards recorded during all of 2009.
And, the 35 exceedances don't include readings from last week when the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (DNR) issued air quality alerts for east central Iowa because of high levels of PM 2.5.
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