BUTTE, Nebraska -- The North Central District Health Department(NCDHD) has teamed up with the Lower Niobrara NRD to launch the Purple Air Monitor within the district. 

Amy Latzel, NCDHD environmental health coordinator, headed the project bringing air quality monitors to the NCDHD office in O’Neill, Nebraska; the Lower Niobrara NRD office in Butte,Nebraska; and Ainsworth Public School in Ainsworth, Nebraska. 

Air monitors detect, monitor and report on specific air pollutants like particulate matter (PM) or carbon dioxide and/or environmental factors such as temperature and humidity. Air quality can be reported in various ways representing different pollutants. The U.S. Enivornmental Protection Agency (EPA) PM2.5 air quality index is derived from different emission sources having different chemical composition. Particles which are directly emitted into the atmosphere can originate from both natural sources, such as dust storms, and forest fires, and anthropogenic sources such as emissions from combustion of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel, biomass burning, organic compounds. EPA PM10 air quality index is derived from smoke, dirt, dust emitted from unpaved roads, pollen, and mold.

View current air quality monitoring at www.lnnrd.org and select from the following:

• Air Quality (US EPA PM 2.5)
• Pollen Counts (US EPA PM10)
• Temperature, and Humidity