As Prince George experiences its second dust advisory of 2016, a local non-profit is working to raise the public’s awareness about the issue.
The Prince George Air Improvement Roundtable (PGAIR) has released Keeping the Dust Down, the third in its series of videos focusing on air quality emissions. PGAIR partnered with local production company 6ix Sigma to create the short animations.
PGAIR Manager Tiffany Bonnett says the aim of the videos is to inspire residents to do their part to help keep the air clear.
“We’re hoping members of the public will follow some simple best practices that help keep the dust levels down in Prince George and help and reduce our particulate matter levels in the community.”
So what can we do to keep dust out of the air?
“Some of the best practices that residents and businesses can follow is reviewing parking restrictions in the city and keeping parked vehicles out of the way of street sweeping operations.”
You can read up on the city’s parking restrictions for street sweeping here.
Bonnett says drivers should avoid road shoulders, where gravel and aggregate builds up during the winter. When cleaning driveways or parking lots, be sure to spray them down with water first and always use a proper filter when using vacuum sweepers. Sweeping should not be done when dust advisories are in effect.
Bonnett says the early arrival of warm weather can mean more dust in the air for longer periods of time.
“The air quality is of concern for a longer time in the spring. We’ll often see dry roads showing up in mid-February and we’ll usually get, as we saw last week, one or two more snowfalls that hit after that. It’s kind of a step backwards because then we’re putting down gravel again,” says Bonnett.
“We are trying to curb those early air quality advisories that are showing up in March by encouraging people to get out there and clean up gravel and aggregate earlier.”
More information on minimizing dust can be found on PGAIR’s website.
