Madison Celebrates Installation of First Air Quality Monitor

 

The City of Madison is proud to announce the installation of its first air quality monitor within the community. It's located at the Kennedy Heights Community Center. 64 more monitors will be installed in the next few months. The City’s new air quality monitoring network will measure particulate matter concentrations in neighborhoods throughout Madison. Funding for the network was provided by the U.S. Department of Environmental Protection.

 

Particulate matter is a type of air pollution that can have significant negative impacts on the health of community members. In the long-term, these small particles can infiltrate the cardiovascular and respiratory systems, contributing to incidences of heart disease, asthma, vascular dementia, and low birth weights. In the short term, for instance when wildfires occur, particulate matter can lead to strokes and heart attacks that can be fatal, in addition to causing permanent damage to the heart and lungs. Sources of particulate matter, such as emissions from vehicles, wood fires, and coal combustion, are also associated with other air pollutants, such as ozone, sulfur oxides and nitrogen oxides. Low-income and BIPOC residents bear disproportionate harm from air pollution.

 

The City’s air quality monitoring network will gather data that can be used to communicate to residents their hyperlocal exposure to particulate matter pollution. The project will also operate as an educational resource for helping residents find practical solutions to poor air quality events. 56 sensors will be placed on City-owned street poles, 5 will be placed at City parks, and 4, including the installation at Kennedy Heights Community Center, are slated to be placed at partner organizations.

 

Our collaboration with other monitoring projects throughout Wisconsin will build informational networks to broaden the public’s understanding of the Air Quality Index (AQI). We’ll be able to compare City sensors to Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources’ regulatory monitors, which will facilitate cooperation to protect the health of all Wisconsin residents.

 

By placing this monitor at Kennedy Heights Community Center, we are taking an important step in the completion of this project. Madison is committed to placing the community at the forefront of environmental decision-making. This lasting partnership extends not only to protecting our community from potential air quality issues, but also to sharing in the benefits promised by having sustainability as a driving value in the City’s priorities.  

 

We invite the community to learn more about our monitoring device, our community partnerships, and to learn more about how they can get involved in the science of air quality control by visiting the City’s website: cityofmadison.com/sustainability/climate/air-quality.