Mid Ohio Valley USEPA Community Science Ambient Air Monitoring Grant

09/06/2025

Great app:

Visualize multi pollutant risk from petrochemical facilities releasing toxic chemicals into the air. Filter the map for a set of priority chemicals to see the risk patterns for individual chemicals across the country.

09/06/2025

https://www.thecooldown.com/outdoors/petrochemical-pollution-map-edf-air-quality/

The Petrochemical Air Pollution Map has pinpointed the locations of polluting facilities and highlighted the neighborhoods facing the highest health risks.

07/27/2025

If you live near fracking and its infrastructure, you have a need to know!
Fracking began in Pennsylvania more than 15 years ago, and there is continuing concern for the potential health impacts related to the shale industry.

The Allegheny Front’s Kara Holsopple recently spoke with Nathan Deron, project manager at the Environmental Health Project, a nonprofit that has been working on these issues for over a decade. The organization debuted a new online tool called Compounds of Concern, which they’ve developed to help residents navigate exposure to chemicals and compounds from industrial facilities.

The Environmental Health Project's Compounds of Concern tool helps residents living near industrial facilities learn about the chemicals and compounds that may be exposed to, and their potential health risks.

08/03/2024

Monitoring of natural gas compressor stations underestimates health risks to nearby communities
Gaps in state and federal monitoring mean rural, poor, non-white and elderly communities disproportionally experience harmful health effects from compressor station pollution.

There are more than 1,200 compressor stations along the roughly 3.2 billion kilometers (2 million miles) of natural gas pipeline in the United States. Monitoring and enforcement of pollutants from these stations is falling short, a new study reports.

07/04/2024

The Northern Panhandle’s industrial legacy has also prompted locals to launch local air monitoring efforts. The Follansbee-based Ohio Valley Environmental Advocates, through a partnership with several environmental groups and funding from the EPA, is working to place air sensors throughout the Ohio River Valley in both West Virginia and Ohio.

“It just stands to reason that we should monitor and test the area to help protect ourselves and to help learn about what’s going on here,” said Frank Rocchio, a Follansbee native and the group’s co-founder.

INSTITUTE — Harvey Silas recalls how the air in his community once stung. “It used to be at five o’clock in the evening when they did whatever they did down at the plant, your eyes would burn,” he said. “I thought it was awful.” Outside the sliding glass doors that lead to Silas’ balco...

07/02/2024

Today was a great day! Dr. Yuri Gorby worked with Ohio Valley Environmental Advocates to deploy the first Purple Air monitor for our US EPA grant in Follansbee AND the project team received final approval for the project's Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP).
After working for over a year and after three submissions, sometimes meeting twice a week and always at least once a week, we have our final approved QAPP!

04/26/2024

https://beavercountyradio.com/news/study-pa-ranks-high-for-health-impacts-of-oil-and-gas-flaring-emissions/

Study: PA ranks high for health impacts of oil and gas flaring emissions
APRIL 22, 2024

Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Service

A new study raised red flags about respiratory health in Pennsylvania, particularly for those living near oil and gas activity.

The study by GeoHealth said nationwide, oil and gas venting and flaring exacerbate asthma in 73,000 children, including nearly 12,000 in Pennsylvania.

Jackson Zeiler, public health analyst for the Environmental Health Project, said energy developers do flaring and venting on a regular basis to remove excess gas. He explained the study looked at the potential health risks associated with the practice.

“There’s adverse birth outcomes, there’s cancer outcomes,” Zeiler pointed out. “Volatile Organic Compounds are a big part of these emissions, which have a whole host of health effects, including respiratory health issues, different neurological effects like headaches and dizziness for people who are working in those facilities, and people who live really close by.”

Zeiler noted flaring also contributes to an increased risk of hospitalizations, emergency room visits, worsening asthma and even premature death. But the energy industry said flaring is needed to minimize pressure at well sites, for testing and other reasons.

The study used satellite images and gas-imaging techniques to visualize emissions. Zeiler added companies are required to report their emissions to regulatory authorities and the data is compiled into a National Emissions Inventory through various sensors.

“They looked at the National Emissions Inventory numbers and compared it to the actual imaging that they looked at,” Zeiler emphasized. “They found that the imaging saw way more emissions than was accounted for in the National Emissions Inventory. They’re able to conclude that companies are underreporting, essentially, what they’re flaring and what they’re emitting.”

He suggested Pennsylvanians could work with lawmakers on stricter reporting guidelines and transparency requirements for oil and gas operators. He also recommended advocating for greater setback distances between well sites and residential areas to minimize exposure.

Danielle Smith – Keystone State News Service A new study raised red flags about respiratory health in Pennsylvania, particularly for those living near oil and gas activity. The study by GeoHealth said nationwide, oil and gas venting and flaring exacerbate asthma in 73,000 children, including nearl...

04/24/2024

Good to see that the USEPA is taking necessary steps to protect people from harmful chemicals: "Dr. Uddameri tells 12News this new rule means it will cost companies more money to produce products because of the tighter restrictions. But less pollution could save lives in the long run, he says.

"These chemicals are ethylene oxide, chloroprene, benzene,1-3 butadiene, ethylene dichloride, and vinyl chloride," Dr. Uddameri
said."

Dr. Vinki Uddameri, a civil engineering professor at Lamar University, says these chemicals are used to make products like plastic and gasoline.

04/23/2024

The SPod was a big hit at the Wheeling WV Earth Day observation last weekend! Many people were interested in how it worked and our efforts to monitor air quality in the Valley!

12/24/2023

We are working very hard to learn all we can about the Sensit SPod - now we can finally trigger summa canisters automatically when there are spikes in harmful contaminants. This will help people to know exactly what their exposures are, especially when there are sporadic releases from blowdowns, pigging and flaring:

The SENSIT® RAMP is an easily deployable, low-cost air quality monitoring platform that is capable of monitoring up to five gaseous chemical pollutants.

12/24/2023

We are thankful for our new Sensit SPod made possible by the USEPA grant for community science ambient air monitoring. Community members who want to join our project who live in the Mid Ohio Valley are welcome to join. Please message us!
https://gasleaksensors.com/products/sensit-spod/

12/24/2023

PRESSURE FROM RESIDENTS: AN ESSENTIAL INGREDIENT FOR CLEANER AIR
Luqman emphasized that air quality improvements tend to be driven by community members.

Air monitoring required by the Clean Air Act helped reduce pollution over decades. But data alone won’t ensure residents breathe healthy air.