[All_jlau] JLab Air Quality Alert – Today & Tomorrow, Aug. 18-19

[deborah magaldi]

Today and tomorrow the Hampton Roads area is under an air quality alert 
due to smoke generated by the Dismal Swamp fire. The fire has burned 
about 5600 acres in the swamp near the North Carolina border.

Dr. Chandler, Jefferson Lab's Occupational Medicine director, has 
emphasized that the smoke in our area has created the potential for 
adverse health effects.  This risk is potentially significant in 
individuals who have medical conditions affecting the lungs or heart.  
The most common of these diseases are asthma, chronic obstructive 
pulmonary disease (COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis), coronary artery 
disease, and angina.

Employees who have lung or heart problems and/or sensitivity to smoke 
should minimize time outdoors and seek medical attention if they develop 
symptoms. Supervisors should avoid/reschedule outdoor activities that 
involve strenuous work. Voluntary exercise and outdoor chores at home 
should be curtailed.

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality offers the following 
general guidelines for citizens to use in assessing local air quality 
conditions whenever there is wildfire smoke present:

•    If you can smell smoke with no visibility impairment, air quality 
levels are probably in the Code Orange range, or Unhealthy for Sensitive 
Groups. At Code Orange levels, people with heart or lung disease, older 
adults and children should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor 
activities. People who are active outdoors also should take it easier to 
limit their exposure to particle pollution.

•    If you can smell smoke with minor visibility impairment, air 
quality levels are probably in the Code Red range, or generally 
Unhealthy. At Code Red levels, people with heart or lung disease, older 
adults and children should avoid prolonged or strenuous outdoor 
activities; everyone else should reduce prolonged or strenuous outdoor 
activities.

For additional information regarding air quality conditions, visit the 
DEQ website at: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/airquality/
/
This message is being sent on behalf of JLab's ESH&Q Division./

Regards,
Deb Magaldi
Jefferson Lab
Public Affairs
12000 Jefferson Ave., Suite 15
Newport News, VA 23606
ph. 757-269-5102
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