WISCONSIN AIR ADVISORY 12/23/05

Air quality health advisory issued for large portion of Wisconsin

DATE: December 23, 2005
CONTACT: Larry Bruss, DNR, (608) 267-7543
Henry Anderson, DHFS, (608) 266-1253

Madison, Wis. – The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources is issuing an air quality health advisory for approximately one-half of Wisconsin,
effective today Friday, December 23, 2005 until 12:00 p.m., Saturday, December 24, 2005. This advisory affects people living in the area south of a line from Rice Lake through Wausau and Green Bay to Kewaunee, and north of a line from La Crosse through Madison to Milwaukee.

The advisory is being issued because of persistent elevated levels of fine particles in the air. These fine particles come primarily from combustion
sources, such as power plants, factories and other industrial sources, vehicle exhaust, and outdoor fires. Current weather conditions leading to this advisory are air stagnation, light winds and warmer air aloft, trapping particle pollution near the ground. The air may continue to be stagnant through the Christmas weekend and people affected by fine particle pollution should check the web pages listed at the bottom of this advisory for more information on current conditions.

Due to the holiday weekend, DNR will not issue any additional health advisories before December 27, 2005. If you are sensitive to particle pollution, use caution this weekend and reduce your exposure to unhealthy levels of particle pollution.

The Air Quality Index is currently in the orange level, which is considered unhealthy for people in sensitive groups and others, including people who are not in sensitive groups but who are engaged in strenuous activities or exposed for prolonged periods of time. People in those sensitive groups include those with heart or lung disease, asthma, older adults and children. When an air quality health advisory is issued, people in those groups are advised to reschedule or cut back on strenuous activities.People with lung diseases such as asthma and bronchitis and heart disease should pay attention to cardiac symptoms like chest pain and shortness of breath or respiratory symptoms like coughing, wheezing and discomfort when taking a breath, and consult with their physician if they have concerns or are experiencing symptoms. To receive air quality health advisories by e-mail, visit http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/air/health/listserv.html.

There are several actions the public can take to reduce their contributions to this regional air quality problem.

-Reduce driving when possible and don’t leave vehicle engines idling
-Postpone activities that use small gasoline and diesel engines.
-Avoid burning leaves, brush, grass or wood. Composting is preferred, but if you must burn and your community allows it, do not burn on an air quality health advisory day.
-Never burn household garbage, plastic, rubber, painted wood or other
materials that must be recycled or landfilled and cannot be legally burned.
-Practice electrical energy conservation.

For more information:

-Federal interagency air quality web site, for information on the Air Quality Index and nationwide air quality forecasts and air quality conditions, http://airnow.gov
-DNR’s statewide air quality monitoring web page, http://maps.dnr.state.wi.us/wisards
-For local DNR air management program contacts, http://dnr.wi.gov/org/aw/air/staff/regions.htm