NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP, MI— An air monitor designed to detect a pollutant in wildfire smoke has been installed in Negaunee Township.
One of more than 40 placed across the state, the instrument comes from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy.
The monitor will measure PM2.5, an air pollutant regulated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. PM2.5 is found in wildfire smoke, which drifted in from Canada and western states and choked the region last summer. The EPA says particles less than 10 micrometers in diameter can get deep into a person’s lungs and some may even enter the bloodstream. Of these, particles less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter (also known as PM2.5) pose the greatest health risk.
The $30,000 monitor was funded by a federal direct award through the American Rescue Plan Act, which provides grant opportunities to upgrade equipment and establish new monitoring sites. After consulting with local environmental groups, the monitor was installed in Negaunee Township because of its location in the most populated county in the Upper Peninsula and proximity to the cities of Ishpeming and Marquette.
The monitor will let the Air Quality Division get a better idea if smoke is impacting the western Upper Peninsula or not, rather than having to guess.
