Iowa DNR issues air pollution alert for Eastern Iowa

Air pollution in Eastern Iowa today has prompted a warning from the Iowa Department of Natural Resources.

Anyone in northeast Iowa with respiratory or heart disease, the elderly and children should limit prolonged outdoor exertion until the air quality improves, the DNR warned.

Fine particulate pollution levels above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency threshold were measured this morning in northeast Iowa and were expected to continue until Friday morning.

At noon today, fine particle levels averaged in the 30s across Iowa, with higher levels in northeast Iowa.

Cedar Rapids recorded 39, Clinton, 42; Davenport, 40; Iowa City, 41; Muscatine, 35; and Waterloo, 42.

The EPA's 24-hour health threshold for fine particles is 35 micrograms per cubic meter.

Air monitors on Wednesday recorded 24-hour fine particle levels above EPA health standards at Hoover School in Iowa City and in Davenport and Muscatine.

Fine particles, found in smoke and haze, can be emitted from sources such as fires, or they can form when gases emitted from power plants, industries and vehicles react in the air, according to the EPA.

Smaller particles can pass through the throat and nose and enter the lungs. Once inhaled, the particles can affect the heart and lungs and cause serious health effects, according to the EPA.