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Air Monitoring Is Helping To Clean Our Town

Air Monitoring Is Helping To Clean Our Town. Students perspective of Local Air Quality. Where Is Darrington?. Population 1,200 A small town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains between Seattle and Canada Rural environment, logging and timber industries.

Melvin
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Air Monitoring Is Helping To Clean Our Town

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  1. Air Monitoring Is Helping To Clean Our Town Students perspective of Local Air Quality

  2. Where Is Darrington? • Population 1,200 • A small town in the foothills of the Cascade Mountains between Seattle and Canada • Rural environment, logging and timber industries. • Known for our Bluegrass and Classic Rock Festivals.

  3. And beautiful scenery!

  4. Darrington But the surrounding mountains can cause air quality problems.

  5. Darrington High School • Student body < 300. • Science Club- a diverse group Today………. • What we’ve learned as a result of this work.

  6. Continuous fine Pm Nephelometer Aethalometer Air Monitoring at DHS

  7. So what is our air quality like? • Good in the summer. • Smog and Ozone not a problem. • In the winter……?

  8. Wood smoke in Darrington

  9. Air Stagnation in Darrington

  10. Comparison to Marysville

  11. Air Quality DaysThe good and the bad

  12. Do we violate the NAAQS?

  13. Annual Average

  14. What we have learned… • We have issues!

  15. Our issues are… • Darrington has a pollution problem • Residential wood burning • Potential violation of EPA standards • Changing our behaviors will be a challenge. • Reducing wood burning will help correct the problem.

  16. What have we learned and how can we make a difference • Pollution is a problem in Darrington. • Especially from wood burning • Not from the Mill • We can’t change the weather but can change ourselves.

  17. Science Club In Action

  18. What’s happening now • Our town is developing a program to replace wood burning devices. • Our science program is now focusing on air quality matters. • We are trying to get more people to see the benefits of cleaning our air. • Every day now we look to see what is really happening.

  19. Our teacher’s perspective • Science program and community benefits • Ties with Biology and Earth Science topics • Students make broader connections and relevance to their own lives and families’ health • A new awareness of atmospheric pollutants • The opportunity for student learning in multiple disciplines

  20. Thanks! • Please visit us at the poster session for questions and more information!

  21. Poster products

  22. Less than half the 24-hour standard of 65 µg/m3

  23. Air Quality and Meteorology • When there is bad weather the pollution becomes trapped in our valley.

  24. Human behavior and the Weather • People behave differently as the weather changes • Winter wood burning • This adds to air pollution especially when the weather is stagnant • Results impact our quality of life

  25. Temperature Inversions and Air Stagnation • What does temperature do with elevation? • What is a Temperature Inversion? • What role does Temperature play in Air Quality

  26. Pollution is mixed out Normal conditions Temp Decreases With elevation

  27. Temp Increases with elevation then decreases Top of inversion

  28. New Weather products for Darrington

  29. Darrington Special Weather Tools

  30. Darrington Special Weather Tools

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