Clean Air – Ground Truthing California

Tools to Test Air Quality

PurpleAir

PurpleAir is a air quality monitoring tool that provides measurements of air quality at real time. The sensors use a fan to push air pass the laser to cause reflections of the particles in the air, which resembles smoke, dust, or other particles. PurpleAir sensors can be installed anywhere as long as a power outlet and WiFi is available to contribute to the PurpleAir Map. The map uses your personal location to describe if your air quality is satisfactory, acceptable, have healthy effects, or an emergency evacuation.

South Coast AQMD

South Coast AQMD tracks air quality through animated maps and forecast that display the current air quality of the region. The map of current air quality is updated hourly by the data received from monitors. The map also identifies the forecast of the area by using the data of air quality

Los Angeles Times: Risks of Freeway

Los Angeles Times: Risks of Freeway is a tool that allows individuals to insert an address to identify near by freeways and the traffic pollution that affects the near by community.

AirNow

AirNow was created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency along with state and local agencies to provide access to daily Air Quality Indexes to showcase the quality of the air in your neighborhood as well as the health effects it may result in. The data is collected through state monitoring tools and is updated at the end of each hour to keep the map at real time. They break up the quality of air into six categories: good, moderate, unhealthy for sensitive groups, unhealthy, very unhealthy, and hazardous.

CalEnviroScreen 3.0

CalEnviroScreen 3.0 is a community healthy screening tool developed through the the California Environmental Protection Agency to track air pollution. The visual provides you with a color-coded map that identifies the quality of air by inserting a certain location or area.

Importance of Clean Air

The quality of air we breath determines our life expectancy, and our overall health. The quality of air, both in our communities and in our home, affect every individual and animal from the womb to our elders. The World Health Organization identified 4.2 million premature deaths in 2016 due to air pollution. Low income urban communities are the primary individuals being affected by air pollution since they are composed of highways and public and private industries. They argue that breathing clean air can reduce the risk of strokes, heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory disease. In fact, the World Health Organization found that more than half of pneumonia deaths in children under five years old were caused by air pollution.

Historical Background

Clean Air Act

Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) enacts legislations and regulations to prevent the exposure of hazardous waste by establishing a line of communication with the public, the business sector, and local non-profits. DTSC oversees cleanup of hazardous wastes, it determines which companies are able to obtain permits to store, treat, or dispose hazardous waste, and it regulates commercial products.

Current Laws and Legislations

Clean Air Act

Clean Air Act is a federal law that seeks to maintain air quality and reduce air pollution by providing air quality standards for ground-level ozone, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, and lead. The Clean Air Act requires states as well as private industries to meet the national air pollution standards by implementing strategic plans to reduce air pollutants

Assembly Bill 32

Assembly Bill 32: The Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 was the first law passed to require the reduction of greenhouse gas emission to improve energy efficiency in California. It was a way to combat climate change at a macro-level by using more renewable energy and securing the healthy of the community. AB32 is overseen by the California Air Resources Board, who involves state agencies and follows the scoping plan to create new strategies to achieve the reduction of gas emission goal.

Agencies and Non-profits

South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD)

The South Coast Air Quality Management District’s mission is to use innovative strategies to clean the air and protect the health of Orange County residents. SCAQMD is responsible for controlling emissions by providing permits to operators. They developed an Air Quality Management Plan to bring Orange County and nearby regions to the federal and state clean air standards by implementing technology that monitors air quality.

Clean Air Coalition of North Whittier and Avocado Heights

The Clean Air Coalition of North Whittier and Avocado Heights is a volunteer led coalitions that aims to defend the environment and their community through programs that help raise awareness. Their ultimate goal is to have individuals, from residents to government officials, be committed to the protection of the environment and the health of the community.

Coalition for Clean Air

The Coalition for Clean Air seeks to defend and expand climate justice policies for disadvantaged communities facing higher rates of air pollution. One of their programs that aims to help community members understand their air quality is the Air Quality Monitoring program, which helps identify the amount of particulate matter in their household and its impact. They also engage students in their Kids Making Sense program by providing the ability for students to create tools that help identify the air quality in their communities.

EarthJustice

EarthJustice is nationwide nonprofit environmental law organization that aims to fight for environmental justice by reinforcing and fighting for the laws in place. It uses the law to strengthen the security of clean air, energy, and wildlife.

A Case Study: Boyle Heights, California

Boyle Heights was a case study that was part of a larger study to evaluate the adequacy of the statewide air-monitoring network (January 2001- May 2002. Last reviewed in 2010)

Boyle Heights is a low-income Latinx neighborhood located in central Los Angeles that has approximately 16 schools and childcare centers (public and private) in the area encompassed by the 60, 5, 10 and 101 freeways and mobile source emissions. The main research sites included: Hollenbeck Middle School, East Los Angeles Mathematics, Science and Technology Center, and Soto Street Elementary School. Hollenbeck Middle School is located approximately one-half mile downwind of the convergence of four freeways. At this site, four criteria pollutants were measured: carbon monoxide (CO), ozone, Particulate Matter, and oxides of nitrogen (NOx). In Soto Street Elementary and the East Los Angeles Science Center, the ARB monitored particulate (PM10) and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH).

When looking at the report, the ARB evaluated and analyzed the relationship of air pollution to children’s health. At the selected site locations there was an evident finding that motor vehicle emissions where children live have a huge impact on air pollution and kids health. Children’s exposure to air pollution resulted in mild impacts such as eye irritation to severe chronic diseases like cancer. Data was compared to data from long-term monitoring sites in downtown Los Angeles and Burbank that are part of the State’s existing ambient air quality monitoring network.