July 2, 2009 DEP, LEHIGH VALLEY/BERKS COUNTY AIR QUALITY PARTNERSHIP URGE PUBLIC TRANSIT USE

June 29, 2009 FORMER DEP SUPERVISOR EARNS R. EMMET DOHERTY CLEAN AIR AWARD

June 16, 2009 EPA, HUD, and DOT announce

May 26, 2009 AQI Is Green Across the Board this Wednesday, Thursday

May 26, 2009 Potential Impact of Climate Change on Air Pollution-Related Human Health Effect

Our Photos on Flickr

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UPCOMING EVENT
1st Statewide Environmental Justice Conference
“Building Healthy & Improved Communities for All”
April 26-28, 2009 at the Sheraton Harrisburg-Hershey Hotel
MORE INFO

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Do You Know an Air Quality Champion?
Nominate them for the R. Emmet Doherty Award.
Nominations will be accepted now until the end of Ozone Season on Sept. 30.
Click here for more information.

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EPA has assigned a specific color to each AQI category to make it easier for people to understand quickly whether air pollution is reaching unhealthy levels in their communities. For example, the color orange means that conditions are "unhealthy for sensitive groups," while red means that conditions may be "unhealthy for everyone," and so on. Click HERE for a full explanation

A new study from the New England Journal of Medicine links reductions in fine particulate pollution to increased life expectancy.

According to the study, based on the change in PM2.5 levels between 1980 and 2000 in the Allentown metro area, about 4 to 5 months of additional average life expectancy there is attributable to cleaning up the air.

Read the article here, and a good summary at Scientific American, here.

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Check the Air Quality Index (AQI) forecast for your area. The links to this information are on the left menu bar of the this page. The AQI, based on data from local air quality monitors, tells you about the daily air quality in your area and recommends precautions you can take to protect your health. As smoke gets worse, the concentration of particles in the air changes - and so do the steps you should take to protect yourself.