I am proud to announce that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has accepted my proposal for the implementation of a 12-month Citizens’ Air Monitoring Program in Jamestown and the immediate vicinity.
The Community Air Sensor program is one of several new initiatives the EPA is funding with dollars it received from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) for projects that address health outcome disparities from pollution, and support air quality monitoring and environmental justice priorities.
Earlier this year, due to an extensive body of science linking air particle pollution to a range of serious and sometimes deadly diseases, the EPA set a new health-based standard for particulate air matter that measures less than 2.5 microns in diameter, written as PM2.5
By comparison, a human hair is 50-70 microns in diameter, so 2.5 microns in diameter means we inhale these PM2.5 particles without knowing it.
These can be solid particles, liquid droplets, or a mixture of both and include such things as construction dust, dirt and soil, soot, smoke, diesel exhaust, quarry dust, and dust/droplets from manufacturing, agricultural, transportation, grinding, sanding and stone-crushing operations.
The Jamestowner’s advisory board, together with a core group of Jamestown United volunteers and site hosts, will use equipment, monitoring and reporting tools made available to us by the EPA, with additional support provided by the EPA’s Region 4 Air Sensor Program Team.
The sensors will be installed at approximately eight privately-owned sites in Jamestown where, for a period of one year, the devices will submit real-time data to the EPA via several reporting methods. Oversight and reporting will be led by The Jamestowner’s advisory board and a core group of volunteers.
The Jamestown community and public at large will be able to view air data in real time on a national online map supported by Purple Air, HERE.
Jamestown, High Point, Randolph County and Guilford County are home to hundreds of facilities and sources that discharge to our waterways and air: manufacturing plants, chemical processors, landfills, construction projects, treatment plants, diesel-powered manufacturing operations, quarries, turf (golf) and agricultural operations.
Facilities and landfills that have air emissions permits are required to report their total hazardous, toxic, and criteria air pollutants emissions, but they only have to report them once a year, and they are “self reported,” i.e. the facilities guesstimate how many hazardous, toxic and criteria air pollutants they’re releasing into the atmosphere. Communities living in the midst of these pollutant sources often never know what is in these emissions reports, where to find them, how to read them, or if they’re being reported honestly and accurately.
While the PM2.5 sensors won’t be able to tell us what specific particulates are in the air, they WILL provide us with 24/7 data about how bad the particulates are on any given day or time, what areas are more affected, the ability to zero in on sources, particulate trends and patterns for our area, and knowledge about how our community compares to other parts of the state and country.
It also gives us more access to EPA staff, information, support and tools, and lays the groundwork for the addition of more monitoring tools as they become available, and as our experience grows.
The Jamestown Citizens Air Monitoring Program will be managed and reported entirely by citizen volunteers.
The Jamestowner, Jamestown United, and the Citizens of Jamestown are grateful to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for selecting Jamestown to be be a part of this initiative, and for EPA Region 4’s ongoing support.
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