LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Is East Las Vegas more impacted by air pollution than other areas of the valley? That is the question researchers set to answer. They equipped street vendors with mobile air monitors for an EPA funded study, and also placed monitors in homes and businesses throughout the community.
Working on the streets, vendors are exposed to a lot of street traffic every day and extreme heat in the summer. In East Las Vegas, there’s not a lot of green space as compared to other parts of the Vegas Valley. That is why East Las Vegas community members, leaders, and advocates are all coming together.
“It is important for all of us to have access to clean air… this community has one of the worst air quality metrics in the region… Things like respiratory disease, asthma, all of those things are exacerbated by poor air quality,” shared Lauren Boitel, Executive Director of Impact NV.
“Buen Aire Para Todos” or good air for all, is a two-year study on air quality in East Las Vegas paid for by EPA grant money.
“We did 20 indoor sensors, 20 outdoor quality sensors, and 20 mobile sensors on street vendors,” explained Boitel. The air quality monitors were placed in homes, in apartment complexes, and even on the carts of street food vendors like Eduardo Moreno who spoke to FOX5 via translator.
“He decided to participate in this study to be more aware of the air quality where he works at during the day… Thanks to the mobile monitors, he has been able to see air quality is good in the morning and then later on in the day is when the air quality worsens,” the translator relayed.
The device shows the vendors a color in real time: green being good, red being bad.
“Each device picks up the amount of particulate matter in a home or outside in real time and it shows up on a map… It will help us make recommendations for what the city can do,” Boitel reported.
The study ended on April 30th and results are still being complied, but preliminary results confirm the air in East Las Vegas is worse than other parts of the Las Vegas Valley. Scientific findings, as well as the feedback of those who took part in the study, will be submitted to the City of Las Vegas in the next month.
The study is a collaborative effort of Make the Road Nevada, Impact NV, Desert Research Institute, and the City of Las Vegas.
Copyright 2024 KVVU. All rights reserved.
