A research team led by the Santa Ana community along with the expertise of UCI researcher, Shahir Masri, Sc.D., research specialist in air pollution exposure assessment and epidemiology, in the UCI Program in Public Health, applied a community-engaged approach to assess the distribution of particulate matter concentrations in Santa Ana. Their findings, published in the online journal atmosphere,showed higher concentrations of PM2.5 particles, which are less that 2.5 micrometers in diameter and can penetrate deeply into the lungs, near the city’s industrial corridor.
“This pilot study served the community’s needs by helping to address their concerns about potential air pollution exposure incurred in residential areas due to industrial activity. These findings can help inform policy decision related to health equity, future urban planning and community access to resources.”
Shahir Masri, ScD, Research Specialist
Volunteer residents and members of the Madison Park Neighborhood Association used low-cost AtmoTube Pro air pollution sensors paired with real-time GPS tracking devices, along with high-resolution geographic coordinates, to collect air monitoring data.
“This pilot study served the community’s needs by helping to address their concerns about potential air pollution exposure incurred in residential areas due to industrial activity. These findings can help inform policy decision related to health equity, future urban planning and community access to resources,” said Masri who was the first author on the publication. “More extensive monitoring is needed to better quantify the potential air pollution sources and regional distribution of pollution. A government grant was recently secured by community partners that will help bring about this next phase.”
“We studied PM2.5 air pollution in Santa Ana and found higher concentrations were near the city’s industrial corridor, an area of concern to local residents. This study demonstrates that low-cost air pollution sensors as used by dedicated community volunteers can be an effective way to both collect air monitoring data as well as facilitate greater health-related awareness, education and empowerment among communities,” Masri said.
Jun Wu, professor of environmental and occupational health at UCI Public Health; Kathryn Cox, UCI anthropology graduate student; and Jose Rea, executive director of the Madison Park Neighborhood Association; each played key roles in the study.
This project was funded by the California Air Resources Board grant 17-CAGP-04 and National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences grant R01ES030353.
