Lehigh Student, Professors Partner with PurpleAir to Monitor Local Air Quality

“The first monitor the environmental science department put up what was at Professor Felzer’s house,” Hernandez said. “He lives in a wooded area that was not densely populated. We wanted to use this as a control for what we thought would be the least populated area.”

At a neighborhood in north Bethlehem, air quality has shown to be satisfactory with little to no risk with 24-hour exposure, Hernandez said.

Hernandez said they plan to put additional monitors in local areas with high population density and low-income communities that are predominantly populated by racial minorities and those with preexisting health conditions.

“Particularly where there are fancier houses, [people] tend to be less impacted by air pollution,” Macdonald said. “Right around Lehigh, there is more traffic, smaller houses, dense populations and poverty, which are interconnected with poor air quality and longer health effects.”

Individuals who are predisposed to polluted environments are more susceptible to having weakened immune systems over time, Macdonald added.

Pollutants such as PM2.5 have caused people to be hospitalized for asthma, have strokes, lung cancer and obstructive pulmonary disease, Hernandez said.

Macdonald said it’s important to look at topography and local weather systems when understanding the causes of air pollution. Bethlehem is also known to have a history of industrial activity and pollution.

With her growing understanding of these issues, Hernandez recommends ways to reduce the quantity of pollutants accumulating and getting stuck in the Lehigh Valley.

“Ordering stuff online, ordering things on Amazon, bringing these trucks through the neighborhoods, causes more harm to the community,” Hernandez said. “Students can even take the LANTA (Lehigh and Northampton Transportation Authority) buses for free at Lehigh.”

Students, staff and faculty can contribute to preventing the increase in air pollution by helping with data analysis and suggesting new places to put monitors, Hernandez said.

In order to create environmental change for the Lehigh Valley, there must be more collaborative action taken in the community, added Hernandez, who urged students who are interested in participating in the project to contact her or Felzer.

Story by Caleigh Avramis ’22, spring media relations intern

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