DETROIT, Mich. (WOWO)— Michigan has dozens of official air-quality monitoring sites, but large portions of the state remain far from a monitor — a gap environmental and public-health experts say can leave residents without reliable, localized information during wildfire smoke events and other pollution episodes.
The issue drew renewed attention this summer when smoke from wildfires in Canada and Minnesota spread across Michigan. Air-quality readings in some parts of the state soared to levels considered hazardous, while residents in areas without nearby monitors had limited information about conditions where they actually lived.
A report by Bridge Michigan found Michigan operates 45 air-quality monitoring sites across roughly 58,000 square miles. Only two are located in the Upper Peninsula, while the northern Lower Peninsula has no monitoring sites north of Frankfort, according to the report…