Issue link: https://www.e-digitaleditions.com/i/1500880
A grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is supporting Breath SMART (Safety Monitoring Air ‘Round Town). The program will create a community-based network of air quality monitors in Milwaukee, Wisconsin neighborhoods with the highest rates of hospitalizations and emergency room visits related to asthma. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Biden-Harris Presidential Administration have announced $53.4 million in funding for 132 air monitoring projects in 37 US states. 36 June 2023 Inhalation BACK PAGES A 2021 report from the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of Amer- ica (AAFA) ranked the city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin second in the United States for the most asthma- related emergency depart- ment visits, according to WUWM FM, the US National Public Radio station in Milwaukee. Now, a $500,000 grant from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), awarded through the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR), is sup- porting a new program to address that challenge. Researchers from the Children's Health Alliance of Wisconsin, a program of the Children's Wis- consin Foundation, are partner- ing with the Milwaukee public schools in the Breathe SMART (Safety Monitoring Air 'Round Town) program. It will create a community-based network of air quality monitors in the Mil- waukee neighborhoods with the highest rates of hospitaliza- tions and emergency room vis- its related to asthma. Based on postal zip codes, the monitors will be installed on approxi- mately 15 school rooftops over the next three years, a timeframe designated by the EPA grant. e air quality monitors will focus on particulate matter, 2.5 microns or smaller in size (PM 2.5 ). A previ- ous article in Inhalation noted "the EPA indicates PM 2.5 has many sources. Some particles are 'emit- ted directly from sources such as construction sites, unpaved roads, fields, smokestacks or fires.' How- ever, 'most particles form in the atmosphere as a result of complex reactions of chemicals such as sul- fur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which are pollutants emitted from power plants, industrial facilities and vehicles.'" In addition, the EPA's website explains that "researchers have long linked asthma…with expo- sure to air pollution." It also states that "air pollution can make asthma symptoms worse and trig- ger asthma attacks." Obtaining hyper- local data Air quality data can vary from one city block to the next, how- ever, hyper-local data can be diffi- cult to obtain. "at's what we're looking to provide," said Carissa Hoium, program lead for envi- ronmental health at Children's Health Alliance of Wisconsin. While the Wisconsin DNR cur- rently operates three regulatory monitors in Milwaukee, none are located in the zip codes with the greatest asthma burden, noted WUWM FM. e Breathe SMART program rooftop monitors will capture PM 2.5 air quality data. How- ever, students at the participating schools can collect additional sam- ples using portable air monitors. "More data in the hands of the public is always a good thing," commented Erin Lee, a board member of Fight Asthma Milwau- kee Allies (FAM Allies). e orga- nization was founded in 1994 and was one of the first asthma coali- tions in the US. "I'm interested in increasing capacity around air quality data. It's something that we look for and we use so I was happy that there were more resources coming to the community." Air quality monitoring program launched in neighborhoods where asthma is most prevalent