Valley air reaches unhealthy level

Thursday, Nov. 6, 1997 | 10:06 a.m.

It was a bad air day Wednesday in Las Vegas.

Well, almost.

The Clark County Health District put people on alert that the air was reaching unhealthful levels. There was no wind to drive the carbon monoxide out of the valley, and Michael Naylor, director of the health district's Air Pollution Control Division, said there may be no wind for the rest of the week.

Between Tuesday night and Wednesday morning the carbon monoxide levels reached 94 parts per million at Sunrise Elementary School near East Charleston Boulevard and Eastern Avenue. Any reading above 100 is considered unhealthful, according to federal clean air standards.

"We haven't been near the 100 mark in years this early in November," Naylor said.

The air is most at risk for high carbon monoxide levels in wintertime, and usually late in the winter.

When an alert is issued, health officials ask the public to drive as little as possible after sundown, not to burn wood in fireplaces and stoves, and to ride Citizens Area Transit buses whenever possible.

"From a public health standpoint, it's better if we can keep carbon monoxide levels down," Naylor said.

The federal Environmental Protection Agency has declared Clark County in the "serious" category for carbon monoxide. The county must get its carbon monoxide levels under control by Jan. 1, 1999, under an EPA deadline or face possible sanctions.