Air pollution alert for July 4 in Detroit area, entire Lake Michigan shoreline in Lower Peninsula - MLive.com
Air pollution alert for July 4 in Detroit area, entire Lake Michigan shoreline in Lower Peninsula - mlive.com
State environmental regulators warned the Independence Day holiday will bring poor air quality in nearly two dozen counties in Lower Michigan.
Scientists issued air quality alerts for elevated ozone levels for the seven-county Detroit area and the entire Lake Michigan shoreline in the Lower Peninsula. The air pollutants are expected to be unhealthy for people with respiratory or heart conditions.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy issued the alert for ozone pollution to run the entirety of the July 4 holiday, from midnight to midnight.
Impacted counties include St. Clair, Oakland, Macomb, Washtenaw, Wayne, Lenawee, and Monroe counties in the Detroit area. Along the lakeshore, affected counties include Allegan, Antrim, Benzie, Charlevoix, Grand Traverse, Emmet, Leelanau, Manistee, Mason, Muskegon, Oceana, Ottawa, and Van Buren.
These latest air quality alerts come fast on the heels of a record-setting poor air quality month across Michigan because of wildfire smoke blowing in from Canada.
Ozone is a naturally occurring gas that protects the Earth from ultraviolet radiation in the upper atmosphere, but which can trigger chest pain, coughing, throat irritation, and inflame respiratory problems when it forms low enough where people can breathe it.
Michigan residents are urged to avoid activities that lead to ozone formation, such as refueling vehicles or topping off when refueling, using gasoline-powered lawn equipment, and using charcoal lighter fluid.
Officials recommend active children and adults, plus those with respiratory diseases such as asthma, limit outdoor activities to protect their health.
Meanwhile, the lakeshore has struggled to meet federal air quality standards for several years due to emissions from across Lake Michigan which are blown east by prevailing wind patterns. In November, Berrien County and the western half of Muskegon and Allegan counties were downgraded from marginal to moderate “non-attainment” for ground level ozone.
Ozone, which helps form smog, develops on hot, stagnant days when nitrogen-oxides and other air pollutants such as volatile organic compounds bake together while blowing over the lake from Chicagoland and parts of Indiana.
Related articles:
Air quality monitors across Michigan growing in importance
Unprecedented month of poor air quality in Michigan from wildfire smoke
Why Detroit air can meet ozone standards but West Michigan does not
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