LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The Clark County Department of Environment and Sustainability has issued a dust alert Friday due to elevated levels of dust making its way into the Vegas Valley from the Mojave Desert by high southwest winds.
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Officials say unhealthy levels of dust for people with breathing sensitivities are imminent or occurring in the local area.
Airborne dust can aggravate respiratory diseases.
Under windy conditions people with heart or lung disease, older adults, and children may feel better staying indoors as much as possible because they could be at greater risk from particulates, especially when they are physically active, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
Tips to limit exposure to dust include:
• Limit outdoor exertion on windy days when dust is in the air. Exercise, for example, makes you breathe heavier and increases the amount of particulates you are likely to inhale.
• Keep windows and doors closed.
• Run your air conditioner inside your house and car to filter out particulates.
• Consider changing your indoor air filters if they are dirty.
• To keep dust down, drive slowly on unpaved roads.
• Don’t take short cuts across vacant lots.
• Ride off-road vehicles in approved areas outside the urban Las Vegas Valley.
• Call Environment and Sustainability’s dust complaint hotline at 702-385-DUST (3878) to report excessive amounts of blowing dust from construction sites, vacant lots or facilities.
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