Dust Advisory issued for Fort St. John

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The B.C. Environment Ministry and Northern Health have issued a Dust Advisory for Fort St. John today.

The advisory was issued because of high concentrations of coarse particulate matter in the air that are expected to persist until there is notable precipitation, changes in meteorological conditions, dust suppression, or street cleaning. The advisory is in effect until further notice, and levels of dust tend to be highest around busy roads and industrial operations.

Anyone with a chronic underlying medical condition should postpone strenuous activities near busy streets until the advisory is lifted. Exposure is particularly a concern for infants, the elderly and those who have diabetes, and lung or heart disease.

Real-time air quality observations and information regarding the health effects of air pollution can be found at www.bcairquality.ca.

Northern Health offered the following tips to reduce exposure:

• Avoid roads with heavy vehicle traffic.
• Continue to manage medical conditions such as asthma, chronic respiratory disease and heart failure. If symptoms continue to be bothersome, seek medical attention.
• Use common sense regarding outdoor physical activity; if your breathing becomes difficult or uncomfortable, stop or reduce the activity.
• Maintaining good overall health is a good way to reduce health risks resulting from short-term exposure to air pollution.