LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — According to an email sent out by the Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability, the department has issued a dust advisory for Monday. They advise residents and local construction sites of the possibility of elevated levels of blowing dust due to high wind speeds in the valley.
The department says the blowing dust will occur in eastern Clark County during the afternoon and into the early evening hours.
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Tips from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, or EPA, to limit exposure to dust include:
- Limit outdoor exertion on windy days when dust is in the air. Exercise, for example, makes you breathe heavier and increases the amount of particulates you are likely to inhale.
- Keep windows and doors closed.
- Run your air conditioner inside your house and car to filter out particulates.
- Consider changing your indoor air filters if they are dirty.
- To keep dust down, drive slowly on unpaved roads.
- Don’t take short cuts across vacant lots.
- Ride off-road vehicles in approved areas outside the urban Las Vegas Valley.
Call Environment and Sustainability’s dust complaint hotline at 702-385-DUST (3878) to report excessive amounts of blowing dust from construction sites, vacant lots or facilities.
According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, airborne dust is a form of inhalable air pollution which aggravates respiratory diseases. Under windy conditions people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children may feel better staying indoors as much as possible because they could be at greater risk from particulates, especially when they are physically active. The agency says to consult your physician if you have a medical condition that makes you sensitive to air pollution.
To stay up to date with air quality information, the Department of Environment and Sustainability monitors air pollution through a network of monitoring sites throughout the Las Vegas Valley. Data is collected from these sites and reported at their monitoring website: DESAQMonitoring.ClarkCountyNV.gov
