Group Against Smog And Pollution Inc

DESCRIPTION:THE AGREEMENT PROVIDES 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 PROPOSED MONITORING PROJECT WILL TAKE PLACE IN ALLEGHENY COUNTY, PENNSYLVANIA, AN AREA FAMED FOR ITS INDUSTRIAL PAST AND RESULTANT POOR AIR QUALITY. THIS PROJECT AIMS TO EXPAND COMMUNITY-OWNED AIR MONITORING NETWORKS, AND SPECIATE HAZARDOUS AIR POLLUTANTS (HAPS) WITH TO-15 SAMPLING TO EQUIP RESIDENTS FROM ACROSS THE REGION WITH HYPER-LOCAL, ACCURATE ESTIMATES OF AMBIENT AIR POLLUTION EXPOSURE. IT BUILDS ON CROWD-SOURCED ODOR REPORTING DATA FROM OVER 1000 UNIQUE INDIVIDUAL REPORTERS IN THE SMELLPGH APP, AND MONITORING NETWORKS FACILITATED BY COMMUNITY GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE SOUTHWESTERN PENNSYLVANIA REGION. ACTIVITIES:THE ACTIVITIES TO BE PERFORMED INCLUDE INITIATING AN AIR QUALITY MONITORING PROGRAM WITH COMMUNITY-BASED ORGANIZATION PROJECT PARTNERS, BASED ON ON-GOING AND FUTURE COLLABORATION, CONVERSATIONS, AND RESOURCE SHARING. THIS INCLUDES SHARING CURRENT SCOPE OF EXISTING COMMUNITY-OWNED MONITORING NETWORKS; LEARNING ABOUT TYPICAL RESIDENT EXPERIENCES ASSOCIATED WITH AIR POLLUTION THAT COULD BE MARKERS OF POLLUTION EVENT PATTERNS (FOR LATER SAMPLING); RECORDING THE INTEREST THE COMMUNITY HAS IN MONITORING AND LATER REPORTING; AND DETERMINING POTENTIAL LOCATIONS TO EXPAND LOW-COST MONITORING NETWORKS AS WELL AS THE TO-15 AIR SAMPLERS. THE APPLICANT WILL ALSO SUPPORT SYSTEMIZED CROWDSOURCING OF REPORTS OF POLLUTION EXPERIENCES TO BE ABLE TO CORRELATE THE HUMAN EXPERIENCE WITH MONITORING DATA BY RECRUITING MORE PEOPLE TO USE THE SMELLPGH APP. THE APPLICANT WILL PURCHASE AND DISTRIBUTE PURPLEAIR PM2.5, AIRVIZ TVOC MONITORS, AND SENSIT SPOD TO-15 AIR SAMPLERS ACCORDING TO SCOPES OUTLINED BY PARTNERS. DATA SUMMARIES WILL BE PUBLICLY SHARED EVERY SIX MONTHS WITH RESIDENTS, LOCAL GOVERNMENT REPRESENTATIVES, AND REGULATORY STAKEHOLDERS, SUCH AS ACHD AND EPA. SUBRECIPIENT:CLEAN WATER FUND (CWF) WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR DESIGNING AND FACILITATING COMMUNITY SESSIONS TO GATHER COMMUNITY INPUT ON THE PROJECT AND TO PROVIDE DIRECT REPORTING TO THE COMMUNITY ON MONITORING RESULTS. FOR THE MON VALLEY SESSIONS, CWF WILL CONDUCT OUTREACH FOR THE COMMUNITY SESSIONS IN COORDINATION WITH THE TWO MON VALLEY COMMUNITY PARTNERS. VALLEY CLEAN AIR NOW (VCAN) WILL RECRUIT 12 NEW MONITORING LOCATIONS IN CLAIRTON OR NEARBY COMMUNITIES, BASED ON COMMUNITY INTEREST AND LOCAL HOTSPOT OBSERVATIONS. VCAN WILL ACTIVELY WORK TO EDUCATE THE COMMUNITY ON MONITORING FINDINGS, BOTH BY PROMOTING THE COMMUNITY SESSIONS, AND USING ITS WEBSITE AND OTHER COMMUNICATION TOOLS. BY PROVIDING COMMUNITY AIR MONITORS VCAN MEMBERS WILL BE ABLE TO BETTER UNDERSTAND AIR POLLUTION IMPACTS ON THEIR COMMUNITIES AND WILL RECEIVE TRAINING IN ORDER TO ENSURE MONITORING CAN CONTINUE AFTER THE PROJECT IS CONCLUDED. ALLEGHENY CLEAN AIR NOW (ACCAN) WILL RECRUIT 7 ADDITIONAL RESIDENTS TO HOST OUTDOOR AIR MONITORS AT STRATEGIC LOCATIONS IN THE NEVILLE ISLAND AIRSHED EXPANDING OUR AIRVIZ TVOC AND PURPLEAIR PM2.5 MONITORING NETWORKS. THEY WILL WORK TO EXPAND THE USE OF SMELLPGH IN THEIR AIRSHED AND USE DATA FROM THE AIR MONITORS, SMELLPGH REPORTS AND ODOR REPORTS FROM RESIDENTS TO HELP IDENTIFY WHEN AIR SHOULD BE SAMPLED FOR HAPS. OVER THE COURSE OF THE PROJECT, ACCAN WILL HAVE SOME OF OUR VOLUNTEERS TRAINED IN MAINTAINING THE AIR MONITORS, CLOSELY TRACK THE DATA FROM THE MONITORS IN OUR AIRSHED, AND PARTICIPATE IN COMPILING DATA SUMMARIES. ACCAN WILL HOLD PUBLIC MEETINGS TO DISSEMINATE INFORMATION ABOUT THE MONITORING PROJECT AND GATHER PUBLIC INPUT. PROTECT ELIZABETH TOWNSHIP (PET) WILL IDENTIFY 12 NEW MONITORING LOCATIONS, REORGANIZE OUR CURRENT MONITORING NETWORK TO AVOID UNNECESSARY REDUNDANCIES, AND ASSIST VALLEY CLEAN AIR NOW WITH THEIR LOW-COST MONITORING NEEDS. PET REPRESENTATIVE, FRED BICKERTON, WILL ALSO SERVE AS THE QUALITY ASSURANCE MANAGER FOR THIS

THE GROUP AGAINST SMOG AND POLLUTION (GASP), WILL INCREASE KNOWLEDGE ABOUT REGIONAL AIR QUALITY ISSUES (INCLUDING THE SOURCE OF AIR POLLUTANTS, THE HEALTH EFFECTS OF THAT POLLUTION, AIR POLLUTION MONITORING, STRATEGIES FOR REDUCING AIR POLLUTION, AND PEOPLE AND ORGANIZATIONS IN THE REGION WORKING TO IMPROVE OUR AIR) AMONG AREA MIDDLE SCHOOL STUDENTS AND ATHLETES OF ALL AGES.