What Color is Your Flag
Remember Breathing is NOT Optional
Many Children and
Adults in Maricopa County suffer from health affects of
the highly polluted air. In an effort to raise awareness
around the issues of air pollution and health and to
protect the children from it’s adverse affects Roosevelt
School District has implemented a pilot air quality Flag
Program.
 The
Goals of the Air quality Flag Program are to help each
of us to understand the importance of protecting the air
that we breathe and educating our children about this
important issue. Children today face enough challenges
and breathing shouldn’t be one of them. Children breathe
more air per pound of body weight and are more
susceptible to air pollution than adults. Children’s
developing bodies may not be strong enough to battle the
effects of air pollution. Research shows that air
pollution can retard lung development in young children.
We do not know what causes Asthma and other chronic
respiratory disease, but the research is clear that air
pollution makes it worse. Air pollution is a major
irritant that aggravates asthma. The school absences
from untreated asthma and respiratory issues affect a
child’s ability to learn, play and sleep like other
children.
Six different air pollutants are monitored including
ozone, particulate matter, Carbon Monoxide (CO),
Nitrogen Dioxide (NOX) and Sulfur Dioxide (SO2). The
pollutants that affect our valley the most are ground
ozone, particulate matter. The air quality changes day
to day or even hour to hour and by locations within the
city. The daily
Air Quality Index (AQI) readings are reported by
county and in some cases by monitoring station in a
city. The AQI provides the health concerns for the
different levels of air pollution. It tells us how to
protect our health when pollutants reach unhealthy
levels.
The AQI uses colors, numbers, and words to describe the
air quality status. The colors of the AQI are the same
as the flag program. The Flag Program is based on the
AQI index and the schools fly flags of corresponding
colors.
Click Here Today’s Air Quality Forecast
Air Quality Index
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