Gusty winds prompt weekend air quality advisory

By Mary Manning

Friday, Oct. 2, 2009 | 10:15 a.m.

An air quality advisory for blowing dust due to increasing winds has been issued for Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon.

Winds are expected to become gusty from the southwest on Saturday and, although there is no dust at this time, the Clark County Department of Air Quality and Environmental Management is advising residents and operators of local construction sites about the possibility of blowing dust this weekend.

As part of the county's dust control program, air quality officials send notices to construction sites in the Las Vegas Valley and in outlying areas throughout the county, asking them to take precautions to prevent blowing dust.

Air quality officials are monitoring the weather at this time and will post an alert on the department's Web site if unhealthy levels of dust occur.

Airborne dust can aggravate diseases such as bronchitis and asthma. Children, the elderly and people with respiratory diseases are advised to stay indoors during dust storms.

Residents are asked to call Air Quality's dust complaint hot line at 385-DUST to report excessive amounts of blowing dust.

Other tips to prevent blowing dust include: driving slowly on unpaved roads, not crossing vacant lots and riding off-road vehicles only in approved areas outside urban Las Vegas. Officials also recommend to fence property, cover it with gravel or rock, or landscape with desert landscape.