The state Environmental Protection Commission approved a new contract Tuesday with the University of Iowa Hygienic Lab to continue running air monitors. Department of Natural Resources Air Quality Bureau environmental specialist Wendy Walker told the Commission some of the monitoring is done to see if the state is meeting the Environmental Protection Agency guidelines.
The contract is just under 1.84 million dollars, up three-thousand dollars from last year. Walker says the monitors go beyond the basic air testing.
Walker says they have the biggest focus on where the people are.
Walker says some of the pollution they monitor is very small.
Walker says the Hygienic lab will supply data and will also keep an eye on the monitors to be sure they are working correctly.
Walker says they have used the State Hygienic lab to test air quality for more than 30 years.
