Diesel in Our Air: Lents Community Air Sampling Project
How do people in Lents experience air pollution as they play soccer, wait for the bus, or simply live near high-traffic routes and industrial sites where diesel engines are used?
To better understand diesel pollution in our daily lives, Lents neighbors worked to locate, observe and sample the tiny particles of black carbon in the air.
Green Lents staff and Lents Youth Initiative interns from ROSE CDC collected air quality samples at 10 locations in Lents between Sept. and Oct. 2016.
GREEN LENTS:Founded in 2009, Green Lents is a grassroots nonprofit supported by neighbors. Green Lents engages the greater Lents community in developing a more livable, thriving neighborhood and work to promote a culture of sharing and environmental sustainability. Green Lents works in teams of volunteers to help support community-identified local projects that the community has prioritized and provide opportunities for leadership, education, and community action. Green Lents took on this project as part of the Lents Green Ring effort and in response to community air quality concerns. Green Lents staff lead observation and sample collection for this project.
ROSE COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT:
ROSE Community Development is dedicated to serving the needs of outer Southeast Portland communities by developing affordable housing and creating educational and economic opportunities for low income residents. ROSE staff supervised Lents Youth Initiative interns, who performed observations and sample collection. ROSE staff also engaged interns to design and produce videos to present results to the broader community.
OREGON ENVIRONMENTAL COUNCIL: Oregon Environmental Council (OEC) advances innovative, collaborative and equitable solutions to Oregon’s environmental challenges for today and future generations. Founded in 1968, Oregon Environmental Council is a nonprofit, non-partisan, membership-based organization. We protect the health of every Oregonian and the place we call home by working for clean air and water, a healthy climate, an unpolluted landscape and sustainable food and farms. OEC staff provided equipment, technical expertise and project management for this pilot project as part of a grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. OEC plans to share this project with other communities in Oregon who wish to conduct similar air sampling projects.
Registered nurse Helen Rodman and her team at the Multnomah County Healthy Homes Asthma Program work with low-income families to help them manage childhood asthma. They have a kit of practical tools to reduce asthma triggers in the home: mold and dust mites, pests and harsh cleaning chemicals. But when it comes to outdoor air pollution like diesel exhaust, they don’t have a tool to fix that problem.
“I can tell you that the people I
Passed by the Oregon Legislature on June 30, 2019, HB 2007 is the 2nd strongest diesel legislation in the nation.
Diesel pollution is one of Oregon’s greatest toxic air pollution problems, costing us billions in lost lives and health care costs across the state. Years ago, Oregon set a goal of reducing diesel pollution to meet the state’s health benchmark. Today, we are only 2% of the way towards achieving our goal.
In the 2019 legislative session, 16 legislators, including ch
Oregon’s path to clearing the air of diesel pollution is a long one, but 2019 is the year to get serious about solutions. Check out our timeline for the policies—and missed deadlines—that have led us to this moment of change.
This month, Oregon’s cross-agency team of experts made it very clear: None of our current efforts to reduce diesel pollution have worked, or will work, to meet our state’s goals for protecting human and environmental health.
“Diesel emissions impacts to human health and the environment are not being adequately addressed by the DEQ [Department of Environmental Quality] or through Toxics Reduction Strategy planning.”
This matter-of-fact statement, and details about Orego
Why do we need to act now to reduce diesel pollution from heavy-duty engines? Because it’s not only one of Oregon’s biggest air quality problems—it contributes to all of them. According to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s , Oregon’s “air pollutants of greatest concern” are:
Diesel exhaust is costing Oregon billions of dollars each year in health care costs, lost lives and missed work and school.
“In pediatrics, we want to prevent kids from getting sick. We are asking parents to take individual action. But there’s nothing we can do to get them to prevent exposing their kids to air pollution. It’s only good public policy that can help protect kids in that way.” — Dr. Paul Lewis, MD, MPH; Tri-County Health Officer
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