Air pollution in Denver? (live in, zip code, association)

[suncoastdiva]

I noticed that you had an ozone action day earlier this week, Thursday maybe? Is this normal for the Denver area?

I'm considering Denver for relocation, but I really don't want to get into another heavily polluted area (Houston was bad enough, thank you).

Thanks!

[ColoWeb]

For a few years Colorado was actually doing good. Now, however, it is at a close monitoring point by EPA again. Overall, I think we are still doing good and better than other cities.

Occasionally, due to air pressure, there may be a brown haze, but it is not too often like LA (which has it most days, I think).

[EscapeCalifornia]

Originally Posted by ColoWeb

there may be a brown haze, but it is not too often like LA (which has it most days, I think).

Yeah, SoCal almost never has blue skies unless its right after a rain storm. Looking toward the horizon, its always brown and turns into a pale blue the higher up you look. When I was in Denver a month ago, it was so nice to see a true, deep, blue sky.

[Katarina Witt]

I would say it is neither usual nor terribly un-usual. It happens occasionally.

[rebagirl]

For a great resource, go to the American Lung Association's site: Home - American Lung Association site. There will be a box where you can type in your zip code. I think it's called "How Clean is Your Air?" A report card will appear for that particular county. I usually ignore the letter grade (the criteria is so strict that there can be a huge discrepancy between cities that receive an "F"!) and just look at the actual number of ozone and particle pollution days per year. Denver isn't bad at all, from what I've researched. Type in L.A.'s zip code for a comparison--choke, cough, gasp!

[Nadine]

I do not live in Denver, in fact I don't really like the Denver area. But I really do think it is better than it used to be a few yrs back. Even so I do smell and get my head clogged for a short time as we approach from the South. But even so Denver does have clear blue skies now a great deal for time. We went to a Rockies game in May. Here is a picture to prove my point.

[tfox]

The oil and gas exploration in northern colorado is the latest challenge to our metro area air quality.

Unfortunately, Western cities tend to struggle with air quality issues because mountains can trap air during periods of inversion (like we had at the end of last week). This is true not only of Denver, but also similarly situated cities like SLC, Albuquerque, Boise, Reno, etc.

[Katarina Witt]

Originally Posted by tfox

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Unfortunately, Western cities tend to struggle with air quality issues because mountains can trap air during periods of inversion (like we had at the end of last week). This is true not only of Denver, but also similarly situated cities like SLC, Albuquerque, Boise, Reno, etc.

Have not spent much time in any of the above except SLC. Was there for the Olympics; air quality was terrible! A haze hung over everything, even on Sunday morning.