Project Grant 00E03628

DESCRIPTION:THIS PROJECT FOCUSES ON THE METRO EAST AREA IN SOUTHERN ILLINOIS, WHICH HAS A LONG HISTORY OF ENVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICES, INCLUDING EXPOSURE TO LEAD AND OTHER TOXIC CHEMICALS, AIR POLLUTION FROM NEARBY INDUSTRY, LANDFILLS, CHEMICAL PLANTS, HAZARDOUS WASTE SITES, AND CONTAMINATED WATER SOURCES. EAST ST. LOUIS HAS ONE OF THE HIGHEST RATES OF CHILD ASTHMA IN THE COUNTRY1. THIS PROJECT WILL SEEK TO COLLECT LOCALIZED AIR QUALITY DATA IN THE EAST ST. LOUIS COMMUNITY TO UNDERSTAND HOW HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANT CONCENTRATIONS VARY ACROSS THE COMMUNITY. THIS INFORMATION WILL PROVIDE CRUCIAL EVIDENCE FOR POLLUTANTS THAT HAVE NOT BEEN MEASURED IN THE COMMUNITY PREVIOUSLY SUCH AS VOLATILE ORGANIC COMPOUNDS (VOCS) AND DIESEL PARTICULATE MATTER (PM). ADDITIONALLY, METALS IN PM CONCENTRATIONS WILL BE MEASURED IN THE COMMUNITY ITSELF RATHER THAN DIRECTLY AT THE FENCELINE OF EMISSIONS SOURCES WHICH HAS RECENTLY BEEN DONE BY THE U.S. ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY. (EPA)2. THESE DATA WILL BE USED TO: (1) CONDUCT A HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENT THAT IS DIRECTLY TRANSLATABLE TO COMMUNITY EXPOSURE, (2) BUILD AWARENESS AND CAPACITY IN THE COMMUNITY TO CONDUCT FUTURE PARTICIPATORY SCIENCE, AND (3) GENERATE EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLANS IN THE EVENT OF TOXIC AIR POLLUTION RELEASES. THIS PROJECT WILL ALSO PROVIDE UCM AND ITS CONGREGATION MEMBERS ACTIONABLE DATA TO FACILITATE DISCUSSION WITH THE COMMUNITY, GOVERNMENT AGENCIES, AND INDUSTRY.ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES INCLUDE STUDYING AND DOCUMENT AIR POLLUTION RISKS AND HAZARDS IN THE COMMUNITY THROUGH A COMPREHENSIVE AIR MONITORING PROGRAM. AS SHOWN IN FIGURE 2, THE PROJECT WILL IMPLEMENT A TWO-TIERED AIR QUALITY MONITORING SYSTEM FOR THE COMMUNITY (AN AIR QUALITY SENSOR NETWORK AND A COMMUNITY SUPERSITE), WITH ROBUST ANALYSIS, CUMULATIVE HEALTH RISK ASSESSMENTS, SOURCE APPORTIONMENT MODELING, AIR POLLUTION EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLAN, STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT, CAPACITY BUILDING WITH EDUCATION AND OUTREACH, AND REPORTING. PROJECT PLANNING - SET UP AIR MONITORING NETWORK - CONDUCT AIR SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS - DEVELOP A SENSOR LIBRARY AND AN AIR POLLUTION EDUCATION CURRICULUM - DEVELOP DATA DASHBOARDS ON THE UCM WEBSITE FOR COMMUNITY ACCESS TO THE DATA - GENERATE AND DISSEMINATE REPORT AND BROCHURES ON AIR QUALITY DATA - COMMUNITY OUTREACH - CONDUCT DOOR KNOCKING TO SOLICIT RESIDENT SUPPORT AND INPUT. - IDENTIFY POTENTIAL PARTNERS IN CITY, COUNTY, STATE GOVERNMENT, PUBLIC HEALTH OFFICE, AND UNIVERSITIES TO DRAFT AND IMPLEMENT AIR QUALITY GUIDANCE SUBRECIPIENT:THE PROJECT TEAM HAS BUILT A MULTI-STAKEHOLDER PARTNERSHIP, LEVERAGING RESOURCES AND SKILLS FROM DIFFERENT PARTNERS, INCLUDING ANOTHER CBO, THE STATE GOVERNMENT, A UNIVERSITY, AND AN AIR QUALITY CONSULTING FIRM. EACH TEAM WILL BRING THEIR RESPECTIVE STRENGTHS, SUCH AS COMMUNITY OUTREACH AND ENGAGEMENT FROM THE CBO PARTNERS, AIR QUALITY PROJECT DESIGN AND ANALYSIS FROM THE AIR QUALITY EXPERT TEAM (SONOMA TECHNOLOGY), COMMUNITY DEPLOYMENT AND ENGAGEMENT SUPPORT FROM THE UNIVERSITY PARTNER (SOUTHERN ILLINOIS UNIVERSITY EDWARDSVILLE), STEM EDUCATION AND SENSOR LOAN LIBRARY (KIDS MAKING SENSE), LABORATORY SUPPORT FROM AN EPA CERTIFIED LAB, PROGRAM AND GUIDANCE SUPPORT FROM ILLINOIS EPA, ETC. THE CBO SUBAWARDS IN THIS PROJECT WILL DESIGN, IMPLEMENT, AND HOST COMMUNITY WORKSHOPS TO DISSEMINATE AIR MONITORING DATA TO THE PUBLIC AND GET RESIDENT INPUT ON EMERGENCY PREPAREDNESS PLANNING. CBOS WILL SERVE AS A PARTNER TO ASSIST WITH MESSAGING AND REACHING ALL MEMBERS OF THE PROJECT AREA.OUTCOMES:AIR MONITORING NETWORK FOR THE COMMUNITY; DATA DISSEMINATION SYSTEM FOR REAL TIME DATA ACCESS FOR THE COMMUNITY; ACCESS TO A STUDENT EDUCATION PROGRAM FOR THE LOCAL SCHOOLS; A COMMUNITY SENSOR LOAN PROGRAM; REPORT ON THE FINDINGS: AIR POLLUTION LEVELS, CUMULATIVE HEALTH-RISK ASSESSMENT, SOURCE CONTRIBUTIONS; 1 KICKOFF MEETING, 8 QUARTERLY UPDATE MEETINGS, AND 1 FINAL PROJECT MEETING WITH PARTNERS TO FORMULA