High levels of fine particulate and sulfur dioxide pollution Monday (3/4) in Muscatine prompted a health warning to residents by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources (IDNR).
At noon Monday, fine particle levels averaged 57.5 micrograms per cubic meter at Garfield School in Muscatine and a daily maximum reading of 158 parts per billion (ppb) of sulfur dioxide was measured early this morning at the same school monitor, according to the IDNR.
Conditions were expected to improve by Tuesday (3/5) with a change in wind direction from a winter storm.
The IDNR recommends residents – particularly those with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children – in the neighborhood of Garfield School limit prolonged outdoor exertion until air quality conditions improve.
The EPA’s 24-hour health threshold for fine particle pollution (also known as PM2.5) is 35 micrograms per cubic meter. The one-hour sulfur dioxide standard is 75 ppb. A daily maximum one-hour value of 139 ppb was recorded at the Garfield air monitor Sunday and a reading of 158 ppb was recorded at 3 a.m. Monday.
Fine particle pollution is a mixture of microscopic solids and liquid droplets suspended in air. It can be emitted directly or formed secondarily in the atmosphere. Examples Sulfates are a type of secondary particle formed from sulfur dioxide emissions from power plants and industrial facilities. Nitrates, another a type of fine particle, are formed from emissions of nitrogen oxides from power plants, automobiles and other combustion sources. Sulfur dioxide emissions are primarily caused by coal combustion at industrial sources.
Health studies have shown a significant association between exposure to fine particles and premature death from heart or lung disease. Fine particles can aggravate heart and lung diseases and have been linked to effects such as cardiovascular symptoms, cardiac arrhythmias, heart attacks, respiratory symptoms, asthma attacks, and bronchitis, according to the EPA.
