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Newsletter 2005 issue 1 |
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Air Alert Season
While some might curse cold Minnesota winters, those winters give us a reprieve from pollen allergies and ozone alerts. But, air quality alerts from particulate matter are an issue year round.
Air quality alerts are triggered by four pollutants: carbon monoxide, fine particulate matter (PM), ground-level ozone and sulfur dioxide. Ground-level ozone is formed in Minnesota summers when volatile organic compounds (VOCs) interact with nitrogen oxides (NOx) by a chemical reaction involving heat and sunshine.
As well as causing health problems; air pollution can have a significant impact on the economy, according to the Minnesota Environmental Initiative’s Clean Air Minnesota program. If the Twin Cities metro area exceeds federal air pollution standards, it may be designated as a “non-attainment” area. This would mean imposing costly mandatory controls to reduce air pollution. A Minnesota Chamber of Commerce study concluded that complying with such a regulatory program could cost Minnesota citizens and businesses between $189 million and $266 million each year.
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency (MPCA) reports that Minnesota’s ambient air is at about 80 percent of the new federal ozone and fine particle standards. The Twin Cities area had seven alert days last summer (Duluth three, Rochester and St. Cloud each had five)—the cool summer helped minimize the number of alert days. This year, the Twin Cities has already had three alert days.
Clean Air Minnesota offers the following suggestions to employers to reduce air emissions:
Air pollution alert day recommendations |
Activity
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Pollutants reduced |
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VOC |
NOx |
PM |
| Employee commuter incentives (transit, telecommute, carpool) |
X |
X |
X |
Refuel employee vehicles after
6 p.m. |
X
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| Postpone lawn/landscape maintenance |
X |
X |
X |
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