Valley does a good dusting

Stephen Curran

Tuesday, June 29, 2004 | 11:17 a.m.

A little more than a month after the federal Environmental Protection Agency approved Clark County's plan to control one level of dust, the agency announced that Nevada is ahead of schedule in meeting another, stricter standard.

The progress in meeting the new regulation, which limits fine dust up to 2.5 microns in diameter -- called particulate matter, or PM, 2.5 -- is a step forward for the Las Vegas Valley, Matt Haber, deputy director for the EPA's southwest air division, said Monday.

The valley still has until 2006 to reduce amount of slightly coarser dust up to 10 microns in diameter -- called PM 10.

Reacting to the agency's announcement, a representative from the local chapter of the Sierra Club called this step forward a first step on a long journey to cleaner air.

"Just because we meet the standard, doesn't mean the air is safe," said Jane Feldman, the conservation chair of the Southern Nevada group of the Sierra Club.

PM 2.5 is about 1/30 the width of a human hair and settles deep in the lungs when breathed, Haber said.

"You can't see it up close, but you see it as haze," Feldman said, noting that such haze is visible from higher elevations.

Diesel engines and wood-burning stoves are two common culprits for spreading the matter, Haber said. PM 10 is the larger of two kinds of dust particles measured, and is created by work at construction sites and by wind whipping up dust in vacant lots and roadways.

"Mostly because of the size of the particles, PM 2.5 is inhaled more deeply into the lungs (than PM 10)," he said.

The Southwest's dry climate likely contributed to the area's low levels, as humidity makes PM 2.5 a bigger problem on the East Coast, where aging power plants spew particles that are trapped in the humid air and inhaled, Haber said.

The EPA is expected to make its final designations in November.

Allen Biaggi, administrator for the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection, called the announcement a "significant achievement" for the Las Vegas. Sun reporter

Beth Slovic contributed to this story.