Patti Vasquez and guest co-host Dan Schaefer are joined by Serap Erdal, associate professor of Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences in the University of Illinois Chicago School of Public Health. She discusses current air quality conditions related to wildfire smoke, associated public health implications, and steps people can take to reduce exposure to harmful air pollutants. Erdal, an expert in air quality research, and her research team, in partnership with the Chicago Department of Public Health, have created Open Air Chicago, a network of 277 solar-powered PM2.5 and Nitrogen Dioxide air quality sensors across the city that tracks neighborhood-level pollution. The system is the largest of its kind in the U.S. and the second largest in the world, providing real-time data on local air quality conditions.

Catch "Driving It Home with Patti Vasquez" weekdays from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. Central on WCPT (heartlandsignal.com/programs/driving-it-home).

Follow us:

Website: https://heartlandsignal.com

WCPT Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WCPT820

Heartland Signal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/HeartlandSignal

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heartlandsignal 

Heartland Signal X: https://x.com/HeartlandSignal

WCPT 820 X: https://x.com/WCPT820

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/heartlandsignal

Threads: threads.com/@heartlandsignal

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@heartlandsignal