The agreement provides funding under inflation reduction act to conduct ambient air monitoring of pollutants of greatest concern in communities with environmental and health outcome disparities…

The agreement provides funding under inflation reduction act to conduct ambient air monitoring of pollutants of greatest concern in communities with environmental and health outcome disparities stemming from pollution and the covid-19 pandemic. The keya foundation looks to accomplish their goal through research to generate ambient air pollution information for the cheyenne river sioux tribal communities in south dakota. They will measure ambient air levels including both particulate matter with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers (PM2.5), mercury (HG) vapor, and other particulate metals, including lead (PB), arsenic (as), selenium (SE), nickel (NI), and cadmium (CD). Activities:the activities will be used to support the cheyenne river sioux tribal community to monitor their own air quality and to promote air quality monitoring partnerships between the lakota community and tribal, state, and local governments that: leverage existing air quality expertise, expand use of community monitoring groups and other approaches that give the community a voice in the monitoring of the air quality, and build a foundation of trusting relationships and enhanced understanding from which sustainable solutions to community air pollution problems can be found. The goals are to collect, process, and share data on exposures to ambient air metals in the lakota nation using a capacity-building participatory research design that locates sampling stations in and around eagle butte, SD, employing local, crst tribal member students to collect samples on a weekly basis for subsequent analysis; and deliver to the lakota community resources and valuable culturally translated information about their airborne metal levels and potential exposures that can be leveraged to promote policies addressing community risks and concerns related to air pollution, health, and quality of life.subrecipient:the new york university of school of medicine (NYUSOM) will help conduct field sampling by teaching local native american student interns the process. NYUSOM will then begin conducting week long sample collections which will provide a greater sampling volume than usual 24-hour sample periods. After NYUSOM completes their sample analyses and interim data analyses, the air monitoring community advisory board (CAB) at the cheyenne river sioux tribe health board will be updated of interim results. The university of new mexico health sciences center will help in organizing and executing the community outreach and engagement activities, including data dissemination. Outcomes:the anticipated deliverables include data on the ambient air quality levels of PM2.5 and mercury (HG). The expected outcomes include creating a comprehensive report of the results, comparing known ambient standards and guidance levels. From there, the data will serve as a strong, scientific basis for crafting the cheyenne river sioux tribal community air pollution action plan which will identify feasible approaches to targeted decreases of particulate matter and airborne metal exposures. IT will then be used as an educational and community air pollution monitoring sustainability outcome, enabling potential expansions to other lakota tribes. The intended beneficiaries include the cheyenne river sioux tribe and lakota tribes.