The dangers of secondhand smoke have been known for years, but just how high are pollution levels inside local bars?

NEWS9 teamed up with the Belmont and Ohio counties health departments in an investigation to see just how high the pollution is inside some popular gathering spots.

The team used a device called a permissible real-time dust monitor, which tracks pollution in the air.

Tests were conducted at the Alpha in Wheeling, the Tiger Pub in Shadyside, the Shady Spot in Shadyside, and the Dutch Henry in Martins Ferry to see how polluted the air was.

The Alpha has already been forced to kick butts out because of the Clean Air Act passed in Ohio County. With no smoking allowed, the device showed an excellent rating.

Across the river, Ohio passed a statewide smoking ban. But since the ban is not being enforced, smokers can still light up.

On a Saturday night at the Tiger Pub in Shadyside, about three people were smoking inside.

Chuck Fisher, an Ohio County health inspector, said right near the table the device registered about a 1.1 or 1.2 and said, "That would be twice that even the worse level."

There is no standard for indoor air quality, but NEWS9 took the information and correlated it with an Environmental Protection Agency outdoor air quality index. According to that, the air inside the Tiger Pub reached hazardous.

Dr. George Cholak of the Belmont County Health Department said, "It's not a scientific correlation but just common sense. If it's hazardous outside, it's going to be hazardous inside and even worse inside."

Just down the block at the Shady Spot, about two people were smoking at the time.

Right at the entrance, the device registered about a .56, which, according to Fisher, is in the "very unhealthy" range of the scale.

Things were much different at the Dutch Henry in Martins Ferry where more people inside and more people were lighting up.

The numbers were the highest yet at about 1.8 or 1.9.

"If you had a factory that had these numbers, that would be a public health emergency and we'd have to tell the factory to close," said Dr. William Mercer, Ohio County Board of Health director.

The Wheeling Tunnel, for example, with constant traffic, registered about .09.

"I think it's pretty dramatic that ... it's safer to be outside right where all that exhaust is at the Wheeling Tunnel. It's safer there that it is in the bar that allows smoking," Mercer said.

The three Belmont County bars aren't doing anything illegal by allowing smoking, as the ban isn't expected to be enforced for a few months.

According to the results, health officials agree secondhand smoke in an indoor setting is highly dangerous.

Fisher said, "Even if you smoke or didn't smoke, you're going to suffer the consequences and breath in the smoke."

The owners of the Belmont County bars declined to comment on the findings, but all said they plan to fully comply with the smoking ban once it starts being enforced.

For more information, please see the link at the top of this page.

-Renee Cardelli & Jackie Cain, NEWS9