Local air quality officials spend day manning phones

Thursday, Oct. 30, 2003 | 9:55 a.m.

For questions about the smoke, the air quality phone line at the Clark County Government Building is 455-0001. The line is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. today. the department also may continue the hotline beyond today if the smoke and dust continues to blanket the region.

So many people called that the department had to set up a phone bank to field questions from the public about air quality. Department Director Christine Robinson said that at one point Wednesday morning every employee not out in the field was answering phones. Usually a couple of dozen people answer the phones. On Wednesday that number swelled to 70. Everybody available was given a basic script and roped into phone duty.

Doctors and health-care administrators, school and day-care operators, businesses with workers indoors and out and many others called, Robinson said.

"They range from A to Z in terms of who's calling," she said. "We have run the gamut."

Robinson stressed that for most people, the smoke and dust could be irritating but would not be dangerous in the short term.

"People with respiratory diseases like asthma or bronchitis may be very sensitive to today's air quality," she said. Anyone with trouble breathing should contact a health-care professional right away, Robinson added, but those without symptoms should leave phone lines and waiting rooms for those that need them.

"Most people will be OK," she said.

Robinson said this morning that a handful of sites scattered across the urban area had exceeded the federal health standards for particulate matter. The problem this morning, however, was not the smoke that choked the region Wednesday, but dust.

"Because the winds have shifted, we're not seeing as much of a problem related to smoke," Robinson said. "We are going to see residual effects from yesterday's smoke, but today's problem is mostly due to the dust from the high winds."

The situation is a reminder that people at construction sites need to follow the rules to keep dust under control, and people need to avoid driving over or otherwise disturbing the crust of the desert, Robinson said.

While the area's air quality is bad, Robinson said the county government hopes to avoid a federal sanction because of the problem. Air Quality Management can request that the federal Environmental Protection Agency accept smoke and dust problems such as the ones in Las Vegas over the last two days as natural events.

That's potentially important for the region because the local government is struggling to comply with a federal mandate to clean up air quality for dust.

Both types of fine dust particles can be components of smoke, and the wind that accompanied the smoke into the Las Vegas Valley also brought microscopic grit. The particles can aggravate respiratory diseases. Symptoms of exposure can include coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

Children, seniors and people with chronic respiratory problems were advised to stay indoors.

"We'll see a rash of allergy and irritant problems because the smoke acts as an irritant," said Dr. Jim Christensen, an allergy and immunology specialist and vice-chairman of the Clark County Health Board, an independent government agency. "You'll get a runny nose, itchy eyes and post-nasal drip."

The county also released several tips for those concerned about exposure to the smoke and dust: