In a move that underscores environmental concerns in Wayne County, home to Detroit and several other communities grappling with worrying pollution levels, a network of 100 air quality monitors has been installed across the county. Unveiled on Wednesday, these devices form part of a broader endeavor aimed at improving public awareness and equipping officials with detailed data on air quality.
According to FOX 2 Detroit, residents now have access to real-time information regarding the air they breathe—a key factor, given that people intake an average of 20,000 breaths daily. Darren Riley, founder of JustAir Solutions, emphasized, "How can we bring solutions and measure a real return on investment on solutions that can really intervene to help mitigate some of that pollution."
Joining forces with Detroit-based JustAir Solutions, the initiative not only sheds light on current pollution levels but is also intended to help identify pollution hotspots within the community. With the help of local input, monitors were strategically placed to offer the most impactful insight. "We wanted to make sure that we were concentrating in spaces with the highest burden of both poor air, and air quality-related diseases," Dr. Abdul El-Sayed, Wayne County Health Director, told Michigan Public.
These monitors will give a measure of various pollutants, such as particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide, with some having the capability to track additional toxins like ozone. As reported by BridgeDetroit, "Data is power," said El-Sayed, reinforcing the principle that informed access leads to community empowerment. Leaning toward further community engagement, a virtual Community Conversation is being organized to delve deeper into the use and utility of these monitors.
In tandem with the data from these fixed monitors, Wayne County plans to distribute portable devices that vulnerable residents, including children with asthma, can use to monitor air quality on the go, Later this summer, intended to capture the conditions exacerbating respiratory issues. “Then we as a county will have the ability to use that data to hold the biggest polluters in our community accountable. And to me, that's a really big deal,” El-Sayed remarked to Michigan Public.
With this launch, Wayne County joins a growing list of regions taking proactive measures to confront air quality concerns, according to BridgeDetroit. Darren Riley sees an eventual endgame where interventions become so effective that the need for monitoring by organizations like his own becomes obsolete. "We only exist because there's a problem," Riley stated.
