Air pollutant levels still high from Sinclair fire

A health advisory remained in place as air quality monitoring conducted today on smoke from the Sinclair site's fire shows continued elevated levels of pollutants.

The Air Quality Branch of Linn County Public Health performed an additional round of air quality monitoring this morning.

As forecasts suggested, winds shifted overnight from the east to coming from the north/northwest.

Air monitoring focused on areas downwind, including the Czech Village area.

Health officials continued to advise residents downwind of the fire to remain indoors and avoid physical activity.

People with respiratory health conditions, including asthma or COPD, are more susceptible to the effects of smoke.

Anyone experiencing difficulty breathing or chest pains should seek medical attention. Residents at risk are advised to consider temporarily relocating to an area upwind of the fire.

Portable monitors check levels of fine particulate matter.

The highest readings half a mile from the Sinclair plant, 1600 Third St. SE, came in Thursday at 500 micrograms per cubic meter, well above the Environmental Protection Agency's health standard of 35 micrograms for a 24-hour exposure.

Monitoring this afternoon at Linn County Public Health's offices, two miles from the fire, had dipped from Thursday, but were still above normal levels.

Air pollution control officer Jim Hodina said in itself, fine particulate matter is not toxic, as compared to breathing benzene or other hazardous chemicals.

But particulate matter - basically fine particles created by the fire that are carried in the air - can trigger respiratory problems for people with underlying health conditions.

For more information on how smoke from fires can affect health, see:

http://www.epa.gov/airnow/smoke/Smoke2003final.pdf