[ADEQ Media] ADEQ Adds 20 Schools in Maricopa, Casa Grande and Florence to Air Quality Flag Program

Mon Aug 3 12:47:18 MST 2009

PHOENIX - (Aug. 3, 2009) - Arizona Department of Environmental Quality
officials announced today that 20 schools in Pinal County have joined
the agency's Air Quality Flag Program, in which participants fly flags
on school grounds primarily as an alert on high air pollution days in
the community. 

The new participating schools include nine each in the City of Maricopa
and the Town of Florence and two in the City of Casa Grande. The purpose
of the program is to notify the public when unhealthy levels of
particulate matter and ozone are expected so people can modify their
activities and reduce exposure to the pollutants.

The Maricopa schools participating are Maricopa, Santa Rosa, Pima Butte,
Saddleback, Santa Cruz, and Butterfield elementary schools; Maricopa
Well and Desert Wind middle schools; and Maricopa High School. The
Florence K-8 schools are Anthem, Florence, Walker Butte, Circle Cross,
Copper Basin, and Skyline Ranch; and Florence and Poston Butte high
schools. The Casa Grande schools are McCartney Ranch and Cottonwood
elementary schools.

The ADEQ Air Quality Flag Program uses green, yellow, orange and red
flags to indicate expected current air quality conditions in a community
from pollution forecasts prepared by meteorologists and air quality
scientists and based on the federal health standards for air quality.

Green flags mean that air quality is expected to be good; yellow flags
mean there might be some health concerns for people particularly
sensitive to elevated pollution levels; orange flags mean that forecast
pollution levels could negatively impact children, the elderly and those
with existing lung and heart conditions; and red flags mean conditions
may become unhealthy for all.

"We congratulate these 20 schools in Pinal County for their commitment
to protecting public health and the environment by joining ADEQ's
voluntary flag program," said ADEQ Director Benjamin H. Grumbles. "As we
partner with more school districts, our Air Quality Flag Program will
increase public health and community awareness throughout the state." 

In addition to Pinal County, 22 schools in the Roosevelt Elementary
School District in Phoenix, four schools in the Yuma area, and one
school in the Higley Unified School District in the Southeast Valley
also are participating in the flag program.

For more information about the flag program, contact ADEQ's Julie Finke
at (602) 771-2231 or visit http://www.azdeq.gov/ceh/flag.html

-30-

"News media interested in additional information on this or any other
topic concerning the Arizona Department of Environmental Quality should
contact the Office of Communications at (602) 771-2215 or via email at
ms15@azdeq.gov."

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Follow ADEQ on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/ArizonaDEQ

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