The first look at data collected by a group of southwest Memphis residents to track air pollution revealed something alarming: Toxic chemicals hang in the air during all hours of the day, according to an analysis conducted by a Washington, D.C.-based environmental group.
Vehicle traffic during some busy hours of the day often contributes to elevated levels of pollution. Once rush hour ends, pollution levels typically fall.
But researchers found that for at least one harmful substance — particle pollution — the levels of detection remained higher than what’s allowed by federal law, all day.
“The persistence of elevated [particle pollution] during these hours indicates that residents receive no meaningful periods of relief, even during times traditionally considered lower risk for air pollution exposure,” the report said.
Researchers from the Center for Engagement, Environmental Justice and Health INpowering Communities said the data points to the influence of industrial pollution sources and weather conditions that slow it from dispersing.
The researchers partnered with the nonprofit Memphis Community Against Pollution to install three air monitors last year at locations in Boxtown, Walker Homes and Southaven. The report measured air quality over a four-month period between November and March.
Although it’s not a peer-reviewed study, what they found is in line with previous research on southwest Memphis. It’s also a counterpunch to an air quality assessment performed by the city of Memphis last year that seemed to refute and deny residents’ concerns about pollution.
“There are so many gaps that are occurring and lies that are being heard, and that really prompted us to provide the study,” said Vivek Ravichandran, an air quality scientist who directs research and policy for CEEJH.
Although home to some of the largest polluters in Shelby County, southwest Memphis has not had air quality monitors for years. To fill the information gap, some residents installed low-cost PurpleAir monitors at their homes last year.
“For almost a decade in southwest Memphis, we have not had a sensor to tell us the quality of the air we breathe,” KeShaun Pearson, MCAP’s executive director, told an audience recently, before the findings were revealed.
“We know the quality of air folks breathe out near Shelby Farms. They have an air monitor. We know the quality of air that folks breathe out near Millington. They have an air monitor.”
The summary report shared with MLK50: Justice Through Journalism focused on daily measurements of two types of particle pollution and ground-level ozone. Both substances are harmful.
Thinner than a strand of hair, particle pollution hangs in the sky long after a chemical was burned. Its microscopic size allows it to pass into the human body undetected. People who breathe it in excess amounts often struggle with asthma, cardiovascular disease and shorter lifespans.
The report concluded that particle pollution was above the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s standard for what’s allowed in a day at each of the three sites where data was collected.
The concentration of pollutants was highest for the monitor at the intersection of Ford and West Brooks roads in the Walker Homes neighborhood. The area is south of a heavy network of railroad tracks and near industrial buildings.
Researchers found that the amount of PM2.5 — one of the smallest forms of particle pollution — in the air exceeded the federal limit for three out of every four hours measured in the four-month period across all locations.
The report also summarized data on ground-level ozone — also known as smog. The ingredients that help create ozone come from a variety of industrial activities, including vehicles, oil production facilities and power plants. It creates a hazy look in the sky once the chemicals reach sunlight.
Shelby County received an “F” score in the American Lung Association’s latest “State of the Air” report based on the number of days throughout the year when ozone pollution reached dangerous levels.
Ozone can cause chronic lung diseases that lead to frequent hospital visits and early death. But unlike the other substances, ozone was not constantly above the EPA and World Health Organization’s allowed limit in southwest Memphis, according to the report.
“However, there seemed to be a regular cycle, with peaks exceeding those values around every 5 days,” according to the report.
Researchers said there’s one reservation: The data was collected in the winter months when the sun is often blocked by clouds. To get a truer sense of the ozone pollution levels, the researchers said they want to see what the data says about activity in the summer.
Michael Finch II is the enterprise reporter for MLK50: Justice Through Journalism. Contact him at mike.finch@mlk50.com
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