DEP announces Code Orange Air Quality Action Day for June 21 in Montco and surrounding areas

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection has announced an Orange Air Quality Action Day for Friday, June 21, in Montgomery County and surrounding areas due to ozone.

From their press release:

A predominantly sunny sky and temperatures around 35 degrees Celsius should create the conditions for robust ozone development and formation up to code ORANGE during the afternoon hours.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index (AQI) provides standardized color codes for daily air quality forecasting and reporting. Green means good air quality, yellow means moderate air quality, orange indicates unhealthy pollution levels for sensitive groups, and red warns of unhealthy pollution levels for everyone.

An Air Quality Action Day is declared when the AQI is forecast to be orange or higher. On Air Quality Action Days, young children, the elderly, and people with respiratory problems such as asthma, emphysema, and bronchitis are particularly vulnerable to the effects of air pollution and should limit their outdoor activities.

Residents and businesses in the Air Quality Action Day areas are urged to voluntarily contribute to reducing air pollution by:

• Save electricity by setting the air conditioning to a higher temperature;
• Combining errands to reduce the number of car trips;
• Limiting engine idling; and
• Refueling cars and trucks after dark.

For more information, contact DEP at www.dep.pa.gov, EPA’s AirNow website at www.airnow.gov, or the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission’s Air Quality Partnership at www.airqualitypartnership.org.

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