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For a sustainable future Environment Matters.

<music ends> >>Tony Cavalier: "those pollutants are naturally

going to occur after we heat our homes, drive our cars. Where do they go? They collect in

the atmosphere and then the meteorology takes over either to push them along or to allow

them to sit and the problem, of course, is when they sit"

>>NARRATION: How weather can affect air quality -- and why for sensitive individuals, paying

close attention to the forecast can have a definite impact on their health. Plus:

>>Sherrie Hunter: "In twelve school years, we have cumulatively recycled 37-hundred tons

of recycling and schools have earned $169,000 dollars from what would have been in the trash."

>>NARRATION: Turning trash into treasure -- how one area school district is making a difference

-- one student at a time. >>KATHY COSCO: Hello everyone and welcome

to Environment Matters. I'm Kathy Cosco with the West Virginia Department of Environmental

Protection. For many individuals — especially sensitive

groups including children, the elderly, and those who suffer from asthma and other respiratory

and cardiovascular problems — knowing forecast levels of air pollution can make a significant

difference in the quality of their lives and how they plan their daily activities. The

DEP's Greg Adolfson joins us now from Charleston and Greg, most people think of air pollution

as a big city problem but that's not always the case.

>>GREG ADOLFSON: Kathy, ozone and fine particle pollution can also be problems in rural areas.

It's helpful if you think of our atmosphere as an ocean of air -- with currents that can

move and disperse but also occasionally trap and concentrate harmful pollutants.

>>NARRATION: When the forecast calls for rain, most people bring along an umbrella. When

the UV index is high -- it's smart to apply sunscreen. But what about the Air Quality

Index? It's estimated that exposure to high concentrations of fine particles in the air

and high levels of ground level ozone contributes to tens of thousands of premature deaths every

year. >>FRED DURHAM: We'll start with fine particulate

matter. When you see dust, that's particles, but the dust that you can see settles out.

So that's not really the fine stuff. The really fine particulate matter stays in the air and

you breathe it in. And the stuff we're looking at is two and a half microns in diameter and

that's very, very, very, very small -- smaller -- probably about 1/30th of a human hair and

I don't have a lot of human hair. OK. So this stuff gets past your defenses - You've got

your natural defenses, your nose -- you've got all the mucus membranes, etc., that this

particle stuff gets past that - gets deep into your lungs and it causes health effects.

>>NARRATION: Studies show that fine particle pollution contributes to heart attack and

stroke and can weaken the body's immune system. So how does weather affect that? The answer

is in the form of a simple rhyme. >>TONY CAVALIER: The solution to pollution

is dilution. So pollution forms and how do you get rid of pollution? You dilute the atmosphere.

You can do it with a good heavy rain -- just think of pollen counts when they come up -- you

get a good rain and all of the sudden folks breathe much better. Well, the same happens

with pollution. Pollution gathers and if there's nothing to disperse it, the rain comes along

and cleanses the atmosphere. And of course the other part of the cleansing or the dilution

is dispersion -- blowing the pollution away. >>NARRATION: WSAZ Chief Meteorologist Tony

Cavalier has a lot of experience monitoring and predicting West Virginia's weather patterns.

He says the state's mountainous terrain is also a significant factor.

>>TONY CAVALIER: What happens is the mountains act as barriers. Wind will blow whatever is

in front of it. Now here in Appalachia, the steep hills in a light wind regime, you might

be able to push a concentration of a pollutant or anything toward the base of the mountain

but if there's not enough wind to get it to go over the mountain, the pollutants will

get trapped against either the East or the West slopes of the mountains depending on

the wind direction and speed, in which case you have a higher concentration of pollution.

>>NARRATION: Another weather event that can affect air quality is what's called an inversion.

That's when a layer of cool air forms over warmer air at the ground.

>>FRED DURHAM: And that inversion can act as a cap and actually trap pollution that's

being emitted beneath the cap in that area and so what happens is if you've got an industrial

source or sources in that inversion and we're in a perfect situation for that here in the

Kanawha River Valley susceptible to having that type of inversion happen...

>>TONY CAVALIER: The ability to produce pollution in the atmosphere is always there. Now you

get the right meteorology and in the summer it's hazy, hot and humid but in the winter

it's light winds with the air warmer in the mountains than it is in the valleys and when

that occurs the pollution will concentrate, it will collect and that concentration will

go bigger and bigger... >>NARRATION: Ground level ozone or smog is

another pollutant that is affected by the weather -- it's typically a summer phenomenon

in our part of the country. It's formed when what are called precursor pollutants, nitrogen

oxides or NOX and volatile organic compounds, also known as VOCs, combine in the presence

of sunlight. Ground level ozone is an irritant to the lungs. On high ozone days, limiting

outdoor exposure is recommended. >>FRED DURHAM: On a high ozone day even if

you're healthy, you don't want to get out jogging and exposing your -- over exposing

your lungs to that ozone because it's like getting a sunburn on the inside of your lungs

and it can cause, at some point, irreversible damage to your lungs.

>>GREG ADOLFSON: Now the good news is that the air quality here in West Virginia is actually

improving -- and has been for the last several years.

Kathy, finding the Air Quality Index is fairly easy -- it's available on the web and on many

local TV weather forecasts -- especially on days when it rises to unhealthy levels.

>>KATHY COSCO: Thanks, Greg. The Air Quality Index is based on five pollutants

regulated by the Clean Air Act -- in addition to ground level ozone, particulate matter

and nitrogen dioxide mentioned in Greg's story, the Air Quality Index also looks at carbon

monoxide and sulfur dioxide. The index is divided into six categories and color coded

to indicate increased levels of health concern. You can find out what the air quality index

is in many parts of the state by checking out our website dep.wv.gov and clicking on

the Division of Air Quality's Air Quality Index link. You can also get information for

other parts of the country by going to the U.S. EPA's site -- airnow.gov.

Nearly every day, each one of us contributes a little to air pollution -- often without

even realizing it. The DEP's Sarah Alford joins us now with some

simple changes we can make to help the planet breathe a little easier...

>>SARAH ALFORD: Kathy, they are little changes that -- taken together -- can make a big difference...

It starts with a cleaner commute -- and the easiest way to do that is to share a ride

by taking part in a car pool -- not only will it reduce the amount of pollution by reducing

the number of cars on the highway -- it will save you money, too. Using mass transit, where

available, is another good option. If your work schedule allows it -- alter your

schedule to avoid the morning and evening rush hour. Driving in lighter traffic will

allow you to drive more efficiently -- with fewer starts and stops -- and for the ultimate

in savings -- see if your employer allows telecommuting. Avoiding the drive into work

-- even for just a few days a month can make a big difference.

When you do drive, try to combine all your errands into one trip -- and avoid unnecessary

idling when not in traffic -- places like drive through lines at banks and fast food

restaurants and while waiting to pick up passengers or waiting for a train at a railroad crossing.

Letting your engine idle for just one minute produces as much carbon monoxide as the smoke

from three packs of cigarettes and idling just 5 to 10 minutes a day can add up to 1

to 2 tanks of fuel wasted each year. And speaking of fuel -- refueling in the morning

or evening, when it's cooler, can prevent gas fumes from heating up and creating ozone.

And when you're filling up -- stop when the pump clicks off. Topping off your tank just

releases more gas fumes into the air. It can also harm your car's anti-pollution devices.

Finally, make sure your tires are properly inflated. Under inflated tires create more

rolling resistance -- making your engine work harder, burning more fuel and creating more

pollution. Maintaining you vehicle by following the manufacturer's recommendations for changing

air and oil filters and tune up can keep it running longer and cleaner.

Kathy, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation more than 25 percent of all

air pollution nationwide is created by motor vehicles on the road.

They also say the average American household uses about three gallons of fuel every day

so not only will taking these steps make it easier to breathe, it can save you money,

too. >>KATHY COSCO: Thanks, Sarah.

Another area where you can help reduce air pollution is through using less electricity.

Once again, here's Division of Air Quality Deputy Director Fred Durham.

>>FRED DURHAM: You don't see the effect at the home; you see the effect at the power

plant that had to produce that electricity and that hits all the pollutants. It hits

NOX, it's not so much VOC at the power plant but NOX, sulfur dioxides and greenhouse gasses

are all reduced when you reduce your electricity. So if you insulate better, you plug air leaks

in your house you get a more efficient air conditioner or heat pump in place of electric

heating you're going to reduce your use of electricity and most of the utility companies

have special programs where they will actually come out and audit your house and the have

on-line audits that you can do like in 10 or 15 minutes that you can do to see where

you are in the spectrum. Changing out light bulbs at your house. Going from incandescents

to fluorescent or LEDs -- >>KATHY COSCO: For much more information -- you

can download a copy of the latest Air Quality Report from the DEP. It contains detailed

data on individual pollutants, air monitoring and additional resources available to the

public. Just visit our website dep.wv.gov and click on the link for the Division of

Air Quality. Coming up:

>>PATTY HICKMAN: People are afraid to invest their money and redevelop the property because

they don't know what kind of liability they are taking on...

>>NARRATION: Turning old, abandoned commercial properties into valuable community assets

-- how a DEP program is improving the economic climate in communities all across the state.

Plus: >>Karen Wynne: We're citizens of the Earth

so we are stewards of the Earth. So we're trying to get across to the students to be

respectful of our environment and part of that is by not littering, by not cluttering

the landfill with things that don't need to be there...

>>NARRATION: Lessons in recycling -- how one area school is bring that message home. Those

stories and more when Environment Matters continues.