Earlier this year, CleanAirNow, working in partnership with the Kansas City, Kansas Housing Authority, Historic Northeast-Midtown Association, Children’s Mercy Hospital Center for Environmental Health, Kansas Air Protectors, and the Kanza Group of the Kansas Sierra Club monitored air pollution and found high diesel exhaust levels at St. Margaret’s Apartments, which are immediately adjacent to where I-670 and I-70 meet.
Diesel exhaust is a known carcinogen, and exposure can also cause cardiovascular and respiratory problems. Diesel exhaust has been linked to (but not conclusively proven to cause) many other health problems, including low birth weight and a wide variety of neurological and other health problems in children and adults.
As can be seen here, some apartment units are less than 100 feet from the highway.
To lessen the pollution residents are exposed to, we made both short and long term recommendations to the KCK Housing Authority. To lessen indoor exposure, we recommended upgrading to furnace filters that we hope will remove more air pollution from inside the apartments than standard air filters. As a long-term solution that will ultimately reduce both outdoor and indoor air pollution, we recomemended that trees be planted to provide a natural barrier to absorb some of the air pollution.
We worked with the Sierra Club, the Children’s Mercy Hospital Center for Environmental Health and the KCK Housing authority to determine how best to install and test improved furnace filters, and reached out to Bridging the Gap to partner with us and lead the tree planting effort.
Everything came together last week, when members from the partner organizations and St. Margaret’s community members came together to plant trees, It was a productive and fun day, with everyone working together to plant the trees, which will increase in effectiveness as they grow.
Testing of the new air filters has been completed, with filters and air pollution monitors located in four apartments and outside. Data analysis is underway.
Thanks to everyone who made this excellent community happen! Please check out the images below.
With special thanks to the Shumaker Family Foundation and Kansas Sierra Club and their generous funding of this work.
Beto Martinez, 
Checking out one of our air monitors. 
Payton Templeton, a native Kansan, is pursuing a degree in Environmental Studies with a minor in Communications. After a summer of traveling throughout the Midwest, she realized the need for environmental justice & conservation advocates. She wants to focus on policy changes for a cleaner planet and spreading the word of increasing our quality of life. She will be the editor of our social media presence, helping with community outreach, as well as air quality monitoring.
Aldin Tollison is an undergraduate senior studying Geographic Information Systems from Overland Park, KS. He will be mapping out the air pollution data to find pollution hotspots throughout the study area, as well as air monitoring. He joined the CleanAirNow team due to his interest in how air pollution affects urban populations.
April Snay, a graduate student in Urban Planning got her undergraduate degree in Environmental studies. Growing up in Minnesota, she spent much of her time outdoors where she first learned her love for the environment. April will help with community outreach, air quality monitoring, as well as policy issues dealing with idling. Like many of us, she is excited about helping and educating the community on air quality issues.
Hanna Baird, born and raised in the small town Pratt, Kansas, got her Associate’s degree from Independence Community College, and is now studying at the University of Kansas majoring in Environmental Studies and minoring in Geology. She lives in Lawrence with her partner, their 1-year-old son, and dog. Her personal goals for Clean Air Now are to learn more about air pollution and how it affects her and her family, as well as spreading that knowledge. Her focus with Clean Air Now is to get more involved with the public, so that more people can understand our findings and help them become just as active and passionate about fighting air pollution as our organization is.
Megan Rush, a graduate student received her bachelor’s degree in environmental studies, and is now pursuing a Master’s degree in Environmental Assessment. She also received a degree as a certified veterinary technician from Denver, Colorado. After an internship in Alaska, Megan became interested in air quality issues, more specifically the effects they have on wildlife. She will be focusing on funding opportunities as well as monitoring for air pollution.
Cole Bunker is a fifth year senior from Overland Park, Kansas. He is an Environmental Studies Major and Business Minor, with an interest in GIS and geospatial mapping. He works on campus at KU Recycle. He joined Clean Air Now to gain applicable experience in air quality monitoring and visually mapping subsequent data. He will be responsible for gathering air quality data, and also preparing visual data to display our findings.
Brian Schath is pursuing a degree in Environmental studies with a minor in Communication. Growing up in Shawnee, Brian says he has always been concerned about environmental issues since watching An Inconvenient Truth in 7th grade. He joined CleanAirNow for a chance to work on local environmental justice issues. Brian is also an environmental studies student ambassador. He will be working with our air quality monitoring and idling policy.
