Public Comment

Dangerous Air Quality Mandates City Action

Thomas Lord
Friday November 09, 2018 - 04:10:00 PM

It is 3:26 on Friday. The air quality outdoors is 171 count of PM 2.5 which is (officially, per standards) unhealthy for everyone. Nobody should be outdoors without masks, for example. 

The Mayor has just now tweeted warning that seniors and children (aka "vulnerable groups") should be cautious. That is medically wrong advice. Current conditions are worse than that. That mistake endangers lives. 

At this level of air quality the City should be advertising refuge spaces -- indoor spaces with filtered HVAC where people can go if they need to. At this level of air quality, the City should be handing out masks (or selling them at cost in some cases) to people living on the street and at senior centers, at least. 

Second year running with this kind of problem -- raise its disaster response preparation priority, please.