Four Corners Health Department Press Release
Four Corners Health Department is pleased to have a PurpleAir sensor. Set up in York, it tracks how good the air is in our area. This will help local people make decisions to improve their health. Four Corners bought three others. One will soon be placed in each of the other counties in the Four Corners District.
Air Quality and Health
The air we breathe can have a direct impact on our health. You don’t have to live in a city to breathe in bad air. This can come from exhaust, smoke, road dust, industrial emissions, pollen, and more. We can’t always see what is making our air hard to breathe, though. The purple air sensor tracks very small particles in the air that you can’t see with your eyes.
When we breathe in air pollution, it can impact our health. Short-term health effects from bad air can be loss of breath, chest pain, coughing, wheezing, feeling tired, asthma attacks, and bothered eyes or throat. Breathing bad air for a long time can add to the risk of poor effects. These could be respiratory infections, heart disease, lung disease, stroke, and lung cancer. Those who have issues such as asthma, heart disease, or respiratory concerns may be at greater risk. Children, older adults, and pregnant women are also at a higher risk.
PurpleAir Sensors
Getting new information every ten minutes, the sensor helps us keep an eye on changes in the air. The PurpleAir sensors are part of a group of devices across the state that are used to find an Air Quality Index (AQI) for our area. The AQI is a measure of air conditions, which ranges from good (0-50), moderate (51-100), unhealthy for sensitive groups (101-150), unhealthy for all (151-200), very unhealthy (201-300,) and hazardous (301-500).
It’s important to check the air quality index (AQI) often. If the air is bad, you can take steps to protect yourself. Some of these steps are to keep windows closed, avoid exercising outdoors, and limit the amount of time that you and your family spend outdoors.
You can check the air quality now at: https://fourcorners.ne.gov/local-health-data/local-data/
Find more information about air quality here: www.airnow.gov
For questions or to learn more, call Four Corners at 402-362-2621 or 877-337-3573. You can also email us at info@fourcorners.ne.gov.
Visit the Four Corners website at https://fourcorners.ne.gov. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. Subscribe to our YouTube channel @fc_healthdept!
