-People in the Coachella Valley breathe some of the nation's unhealthiest concentrations of a pollutant known as PM10.

The particles are stirred up on windy days and come from a variety of sources, including unpaved roads, construction sites, fallow farm fields, and the dried-up Salton Sea.

In the past two years, Palm Springs and Mecca residents breathe maximum concentrations usually recorded on high wind days, two to three times higher than the amount deemed safe.

South Coast Air District officials say the data doesn't indicate there's anything out of the ordinary this year.

Scott Epstein, the agency's planning and rules manager, who oversees air quality assessment said, "We think dust levels are within the typical year-to-year variation we'd expect to see."

Some local leaders and residents disagree based on the physical symptoms they feel.

-I feel fatigued, tired with shortness of breath.

I have to put on the nebulizer either every four hours or every eight hours, depending on how my body feels.

Like right now, I don't know if you can tell, I'm out of breath a little bit.

-In the Riverside County portion of the Coachella Valley, about 41,000 adults and over 10,000 children have been diagnosed with asthma according to county data.

That's about 12% of the population compared with a national avera.. Alianza Coachella Valley, a nonprofit that focuses on improving the health of the valley's vulnerable communities has trained community members to use air monitors in their homes to provide localized data and help protect themselves from the pollution, said Silvia Paz, the organization's executive director.

In 2003, the South Coast Air Quality District approved its plan to reach PM10 standards.

Under the plan, cities implemented ordinances and directed certain industries such as construction and agricultural businesses to reduce dust.

Despite these efforts over the past 20 years, PM10 remains a serious health problem in the region.

For CalMatters, I'm Alejandra Reyes-Velarde.