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PICEH Moving to Kutztown University Campus !

The Board of Directors is proud to announce that starting February 1, 2010....PICEH will have its offices located on the campus of Kutztown University.  The Institute will be located in the Kutztown University Foundation Professional Building

The move to the campus has been long anticipated and is seen as a spear head for the progress of PICEH, its mission and goals for the future.  As a division of Kutztown University Foundation, to have the Institute located on campus will help develop an even greater partnership environment between PICEH. the Foundation and the University.  Contact information will be announced on February 1, 2010.  Until that time, please use present contact sources.


PICEH Reports "BAD AIR" Day

 

January 14, 2010:  PICEH reports that Berks County is experiencing a winter bad air day today.  Air quality conditions in Berks County are currently Moderate – Yellow but on the verge of becoming Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups – Orange.  You can view current conditions across southeastern PA at PICEH’s website PICEHAir at www.PICEHAir.org.

 

The pollutant of concern is fine particulates (PM2.5) which builds up during winter morning inversions.  PA DEP and EPA forecast a bad air day today (see e-mail below) but did not forecast Orange conditions.  These winter pollution episodes are being studied by PICEH to try and understand why the forecasts do not always adequately warn the public about bad air conditions.  EPA does a good job forecasting summer smog (ozone) bad air days but they are not as good at forecasting winter pollution episodes.


 
 

PICEH Air Monitoring Network Records Improved            Air Quality in Berks County 

October 7, 2009 (Berks County, PA)   The Pennsylvania Institute for Children’s Environmental Health (PICEH) has compared air quality readings from its PICEH Air monitoring network and has noted a significant improvement in air quality readings between the summers of 2008 and 2009.   

In 2008, Berks County had a total of 6 days where the PM2.5 levels reached the new federal standard of 35 micrograms per cubic meter as compared to 2 days in 2009.  The county also experienced a significant reduction in days that exceed the new federal Ozone standard of 75 parts per billion (8-hour average) experiencing only 2 daily exceedences in 2009 as compared to 12 in 2008.

While this snapshot of the two years shows an improvement in air quality, it is premature to conclude that this is a long term trend and greater research is needed.   Much of the improvement could be attributed to meteorological conditions along with a reduction in emissions due to the recession.  Cleaner cars and installation of pollution controls at some electric utility and industrial sources also contribute to lower PM2.5 and Ozone levels. 

The period of time compared was May 1 through August 31 2008 and 2009.  The data is as follows.

 

 

 

PM2.5 - Daily Averages in Excess of 35 mg/m3

 

 

 

2008

2009

Kutztown

4

0

Reading

6

2

 

 

 

Ozone - Rolling 8-hr Averages in Excess of 75 ppb

 

 

 

2008

2009

Kutztown

19

0

Reading

41

7

 

 

 

While PICEH has measured the improvement in summertime air quality conditions, PICEH has been following elevated levels of pollution in the winter months, due to inversions and stagnant or southeasterly wind conditions. It is not uncommon for Berks County to experience rapid and severe spikes in the hourly PM 2.5 readings during the winter from atmospheric inversions that trap pollutants.   

The elevated levels of pollution pose a health risk for the general community and in particular to sensitive populations, such as children, asthmatics, the elderly and those with other breathing related difficulties.  In addition, elevated levels of PM 2.5 have been associated with several illness including respiratory and cardiovascular diseases.

Contact Information:      Troy Greiss (610) 670-9200


EPA Provides TIPs During Children's Health Month

WASHINGTON, DC  October is Children’s Health Month. To heighten awareness about environmental issues impacting children, EPA is providing parents and caregivers simple tips they can use to help protect children in their homes, schools and communities.

“As both EPA Administrator and a mother, I understand the importance of protecting our children from environmental threats,” said EPA Administrator Lisa P. Jackson. “Throughout Children’s Health Month, we will work to help parents and caretakers ensure the safety of our children and build a safer, cleaner, more sustainable world for their future.”

Children eat, drink and breathe more per pound than adults. When food, water or air is polluted, children are more affected by that pollution when compared to adults. These concerns about children’s health are a driving force behind many of EPA’s programs, policies and regulatory activities.  There are simple steps that parents and other caregivers can take to protect children from environmental health hazards in their surrounding daily environment.

Here are some simple steps that can be taken to help keep children safe and healthy:

      1)  Discover how climate change may affect the health of children, and how reducing energy helps the climate and reduces air pollution.

       2)  Have a health care provider or local health department test children’s blood lead levels.

       3)  Wash floors and window sills to remove dust and peeling lead-based paint, especially in older homes, where lead based paint is more likely to be found. Repair peeling or chipping paint in older homes.

       4)  Reduce asthma attacks by controlling triggers such as pet dander, mold and second-hand smoke.

       5)  Don’t expose children to cigarette, cigar or pipe smoke at home or in a car.

       6)  Check the local public water supplier for annual drinking water quality reports. Have private water wells tested annually by a certified laboratory.

       7)  Store pesticides and other chemicals in a locked cabinet. Never put them in other containers that can be mistaken for food or drink.

       8)  Replace mercury thermometers with digital or mercury-free thermometers.

        9)  Homes should be tested for radon, as it is the second leading cause of lung cancer.

Contact Information:

Enesta Jones jones.enesta@epa.gov,

202-564-7873 or 202-564-4355
 

More tips: http://yosemite.epa.gov/ochp/ochpweb.nsf/content/calendar.htm


PICEH & Oley Valley School District's Air Monitoring Station Project

The completion of the installation of Oley Valley School District's air monitoring station was recently announced by the Pennsylvania Institute for Children's Environmental Health ("PICEH"), a non-profit organization dedicated to children's environmental health. PICEH, a division of the Kutztown University Foundation, operates air quality monitoring equipment in Berks County PA to better understand air pollution impacts in southeastern Pennsylvania. 

The Oley Valley School District Project, which includes not only the air monitoring station, but a grant for the development of an environmental curriculum program for the Oley Valley middle and high schools.  Funding for the project was provided by East Penn Manufacturing, National Penn Bancshares and the County of Berks. 

The Oley Valley air monitoring station includes a full suite of weather sensors and a real-time fine particle monitor, a beta attenuation monitor (BAM), that provides concentrations of fine particles less than 2.5 microns in diameter (PM2.5).  PM2.5 concentrations in the Oley Valley will be compared to levels monitored at Reading and at Kutztown in Berks County and with PM2.5 levels throughout southeastern Pennsylvania. 

The Oley Valley real time data can be viewed at www.OleyWeather.com.

Childhood incidence of asthma and other respiratory and cardiovascular diseases will be correlated with air pollution levels that are monitored throughout the Berks County Air Monitoring Network.  Real-time air quality monitoring data throughout the region can be viewed at PICEH's air monitoring website at www.PICEHair.org  and at the U.S. EPA's air monitoring website at www.AirNow.gov.


 

 

 

Pennsylvania Institute for Children's Environmental Health

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