The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is launching a program that will give four communities air monitors for pollutants and identify potential solutions. The three-year pilot program, called , can test the air for smoke particulates 鈥� whether from wood stoves or wildfires 鈥� as well as traffic pollution. They鈥檒l measure meteorological data, like heat and wind direction, which could help regulators determine why pollution might gather in certain neighborhoods.
The program will work closely alongside community members to identify their air quality concerns, install monitors throughout the area, collect data, and compile it into a report. The report also will summarize narratives collected from residents, in part to find if there are specific areas that people avoid because of air pollution.
DEQ will this summer based on a variety of socioeconomic, health and pollution indicators.
DEQ public engagement analyst Ryan Bellinson, who鈥檚 helping run the program, said it鈥檚 intended to empower communities and broaden DEQ鈥檚 work.
鈥淒EQ will be supporting them in gaining agency and taking action for improving their air quality,鈥� Bellinson said. 鈥淏ut they鈥檒l also be helping us as a regulatory agency learn about how we can support overburdened communities in effective ways.鈥�
Bellinson said he hopes to work with at least one community that鈥檚 heavily impacted by wildfire smoke, such as in Central or Southern Oregon. The program might also include a dense, urban community that鈥檚 particularly vulnerable to 鈥渂lack carbon,鈥� which is soot from traffic and other fossil fuel pollution.
The three-year pilot program is funded by a $1 million , but Bellinson hopes to find additional funding to continue the program in future years.
Program staff will help community members identify where to install the monitors and how to get them serviced if they鈥檙e not working.
These monitors will likely collect data over a span of six months to a year, depending on what type of pollution community members are most concerned about. After that, the air program will help identify ways to mitigate pollution, like establishing clean-air shelters, distributing air filters, or finding ways to monitor other pollutants and toxins. Bellinson said the program has some money to help fund these solutions, and if that鈥檚 not enough, DEQ can help community members apply for grants or other funding sources.
鈥淲e want to work with the community so when they get the data at the end, they鈥檒l be empowered to take action, whatever that might look like for them,鈥� Bellinson said.
Three other agencies are partnering with DEQ on the program. , a Nevada-based nonprofit, will visualize the data collected from air monitors. The Portland-based nonprofit will help DEQ staff build relationships with community members. Then, Portland State University will evaluate outcomes from the pilot program.
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