Air Quality index Kids Website Teacher's Reference Clean Air and Dirty Air On a clear breezy day, the air smells fresh and clean. Clean air is air that has no pollutants (dirt and chemicals) in it. Clean air is good for people to breathe. On a hot day with no wind, the air can feel heavy and have a bad smell. Once in a while, the air can even make your chest feel tight, or make you cough. Dirt and chemicals that get into the air make the air dirty or polluted. Dirty air is not good for people to breathe. Dirty Air Can Make You Sick Sometimes people with asthma, like me, feel bad when the air is very dirty. When the air has some dust, soot or chemicals floating in it, people who are inside probably won't notice it. People who are outside might notice it. People with asthma, a disease that can make it hard to breathe, and children who play outside a lot might feel a little strange. When you are active outdoors, for example, when you run and jump a lot, you breathe faster and take in more air. Any pollutants in the air go into your lungs. When the air is very dirty, almost everyone will notice it. It would be good if we could stop breathing on those days, but of course we can't! How Can I Tell if the Air is Clean or Dirty? Have you ever been stopped behind a truck or a bus at a traffic light? When it starts up, sometimes a puff of dark smoke comes out of the exhaust pipe. For information about visibility: http://www.epa.gov/air/visibilitv/ 1 ------- Air Quality index Kids Website Teacher's Reference Clean Air Dirty Air or Pollution At times like that you can see dirty air - it looks hazy and brownish. If your window is open, you might be able to smell the pollution. But sometimes the air can be dirty and you can't see it or smell it. So you need another way to tell if the air is dirty. This is why EPA devel oped the Air Quality Index, which we will describe in the "What is the AQI?" section. 2 ------- Air Quality index Kids Website Teacher's Reference For information about the United States Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov/ The Environmental Protection Agency The environment is everything around you - the air, the land, and the rivers and oceans. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is a government office that works to keep the air, the land, and the water clean. Clean air, land, and water help keep us healthy. The EPA works with State environmental agencies to keep the air clean. State environmental agencies take samples of the air at more than 1000 places in the United States to see if the air is dirty or clean. Pollutants Pollutants are what make the air dirty and cause pollution. Five pollutants are used by the EPA to determine the Air Quality Index (AQI). Two of the pollutants, Ozone and Particulate Matter, make up most of the air pollution in this country. Ozone: Ozone can be good or bad. It all depends on where it is. Ozone is good when it is high up in our atmosphere. It protects us from sunburn. Ozone is bad when it is near the ground where we can breathe it in. You can't see ozone in the air. Bad ozone is sometimes called smog. It is formed when chemicals coming out of cars and factories are cooked by the hot sun. Ozone is more of a problem in the summer. More information about ozone: http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/ozone/ 3 ------- Air Quality index Kids Website Teacher's Reference Read a cartoon about OZONE Ozone is made from different pollutants. pollutants come Ozone When pollutants from factories and pollutants from cars mix in the sunlight, Ozone is formed. Airways Breathing in ground-level ozone can make you cough. It can also make it harder for you to breathe. Ozone might even make it hurt to take a breath of air. When you breathe in ozone, it can make the lining of your airways red and swollen, like your skin would get with a sunburn. Lungs Information about the health effects of ozone can be found at: http: //www. epa. gov/airnow/brochure. html D Inside Airway Top: NormHf Bottom: Particles In the Air - Particulate Matter: Have you ever noticed a sunbeam with lots of little specks of dust floating in it? That is particulate matter. Particulate matter is mostly dust and soot so small that it floats in the air. Soot comes from anybody burning anything. When you burn gasoline in your car engine or burn wood in a campfire, soot happens! Dust comes from lots of places, too. When a company's business is to grind things up very small or when someone drives down a dirt road, dust is thrown into the air Soot and dust make the air look hazy. Information about particulate matter: http://www.epa.gov/air/urbanair/pm/ Some pollutants come from cars. 4 ------- Air Quality index Kids Website Teacher's Reference Soot and dust make the air look hazy! Clear Day Hazy Day Some particles in the air are so small you can't see them. It is not good for you to breathe in too much of the tiny particulate matter. Particles in the air can make you cough. Particulate matter can also make it hard for you to take a deep breath and you might get more colds. If you already have asthma or problems with your heart, particulate matter could make you sick enough to go to the hospital. To reduce exposure to particulate matter when the AQI is orange or worse, don't play near streets with heavy traffic. Heavy traffic areas are highways and busy streets where there are a lot of cars, buses, and trucks. 5 ------- Air Quality index Kids Website Teacher's Reference If you would like to see an AQI Forecast Map for the United States, go to www.epa.gov/AIRNOW. then click on Air Quality Forecast. You can enlarge some sections to gel a closer look NH You can find the AQI in the newspaper, often in the weather section. It might look something like this: AIR QUALITY INDEX Pollutant: Ozone Today's Forecast: 130 ^ Quality: Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups Children arid people with asthma are the groups most at risk. 8 ------- Air Quality index Kids Website Teacher's Reference What is a Sensitive Group? Some people are more sensitive to air pollution than other people. Different people can be sensitive to different air pollutants. For example, ozone might make you cough. Particulate matter may not bother you, but it may make your grandmother cough and need to rest. Another sensitive group is children. Why are you part of a sensitive group? Because you're young, and that means your body is still growing, and your lungs are still developing. Also, you tend to play outside more, where the air pollution is. Does this mean you must stay inside when the air is dirty? Not really! Check out what the AQI colors and health words tell you to do: One sensitive group is people with asthma. Asthma is a disease that can make it hard to breathe. If people who have asthma are careful and do what the doctor tells them to do, they may never have trouble breathing. Sometimes people with asthma need help breathing. Children active outdoors can be sensitive to some air pollutants. How can I tell if air pollution is affecting me? If you are playing hard outside when the AQI is orange or worse you may cough, feel some discomfort when you breathe, or your chest may feel tight. If you do, you should tell your parents or teachers. People with asthma may wheeze the day after pollution levels are high. If you have asthma, be sure and follow your doctor's advice when pollution levels are high. 10 ------- Air Quality Index Kids Website Teacher's Reference So if the AQI is orange, red, or worse, do I have to stay in all day? No, you can go out and play. Outdoor exercise and play make your body stronger. It is just that when the AQI is orange or worse there is some risk that if you go outside and play, you may feel some of the health effects described here. What is risk? Risk is the chance that something bad will happen, and it is a normal part of everyday life. There are bigger risks and smaller risks. If you were to play on a busy street, your risk of being injured would be big. We can compare the risk from air pollution to other kinds of risk you know about, such as eating "junk food." Junk food is bad for kids, too, but most kids won't be hurt eating a little bit of it once in a while. Likewise, even though dirty air is bad for kids, most kids won't be hurt by playing outside, once in a while, when the air is dirty. Often, you can lower the risk by being smart, for example by wearing a bike helmet when you ride your bike. To lower your risk from air pollution, you can play outdoors at the times of day when air pollution levels are lower. In the summer, this is often in the morning or in the evening. Another good way to lower your risk is by taking it easier if you do play outdoors when air pollution levels are high. Also, if you do play outside when the AQI is orange, red, or worse, pay attention to how you feel. Does your chest feel strange? Is it hard to breathe? Do you feel tired? If you can answer "yes" to any of those questions, stop playing outside, and tell your parents or teachers. 12 ------- |