UPAS Validation Study
Purpose
The purpose of this project is to improve our ability to assess human exposure to harmful air pollutants, including PM, black carbon, metals, and organophosphate (OP) pesticides. Using the fleet of UPAS+ that will be constructed for the first aim of this study, we will also leverage concern about air pollution in an environmental justice community in California to understand unique air pollution mixtures of agricultural communities and investigate respiratory health outcomes. We also aim to increase engagement with the agricultural communities in this cohort and a partnering environmental justice organization to support education, advocacy, and participation in research.
We hope to learn that using UPAS+ is a feasible and appropriate tool to use in community settings. It is also our hope that the findings from this study will validate the use of the UPAS+ as a tool to use in environmental justice communities and other settings that require low-cost personal monitoring for air quality.
AB 617 Community of Fresno, CA
Assembly Bill 617 (AB 617) requires the California Air Resources Board (CARB) and air districts to develop and implement additional emissions reporting, monitoring, reduction plans and measures in an effort to reduce air pollution exposure in disadvantaged communities. Given that 20 of the 30 most disadvantaged communities in California are in the San Joaquin Valley, this process is expected to bring additional clean air resources and strategies to many Valley communities.
The District actively participates with and is facilitating full engagement of all sectors within each of the San Joaquin Valley’s disadvantaged communities through meaningful and effective implementation of AB 617.
The South Central Fresno community is impacted across a number of health indicators, and so it was included as an AB 617 community in 2018. This community includes census tracts with health indicators that exceed the 97th percentile in a majority of the listed categories (asthma, cardiovascular disease, low birth weight, educational attainment, housing burdened low-income households, linguistic isolation, poverty, and unemployment), clearly indicating that this community includes areas heavily impacted by environmental challenges.
Boundary Map of South Central Fresno,
AB 617 Community
UPDATE:
We concluded our first campaign in the fall of 2022, solely focusing on the AB 617 community of Fresno, CA and included over 50 participants. Analysis and publication of the results is ongoing.
Our second campaign will commence in November 2022. We will include community members from the towns of Cantua Creek and Terra Bella, in addition to the AB 617 communtiy. We expect to enroll a total of 100 participants to study their exposures to PM 2.5 and PM 10.
