Humidity isn’t the only thing that’s making the air feel heavy in eastern Iowa. Iowa Department of Natural Resources air quality specialist Brian Button says high levels of pollution were recorded in the air in Cedar Rapids and Davenport Tuesday.He says they found “fine particulate matter” in the air. That’s the term given to fine soot, and other chemicals that form a sort of smog in the air when the chemicals react. Button says the levels are elevated slightly today (Wednesday), but not to the level they reached Tuesday. He says the air quality index was 102 in Cedar Rapids and 110 in Davenport. He says anything from 101 to 150 is considered unhealthy for sensitive groups. Button says the air quality in Iowa is usually in the good range of one to 50. Button says Iowa wasn’t the only state to see air quality problems. He says Illinois, Wisconsin and Michigan experienced similar conditions yesterday. He says every year in Iowa we have several days of unhealthy levels. Button says Iowa doesn’t come close to some of the worst states, which he says have as many as 240 days with unhealthy levels of air pollution.
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