Downtown Los Angeles with misty morning smoggy fog.

The American Rescue Plan (ARP): Improving Community Air Quality

October 3, 2022

$20 million of the $50 million of funding provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) American Rescue Plan (ARP) was made available “to support community and local efforts to monitor their own air quality and to promote air quality monitoring partnerships between communities and tribal, state, and local governments.” This is the largest contribution of community-based air quality monitoring funding in history, indicating a monetary push and public opinion shift toward cleaner air.

It’s important that this funding is used in the most effective, cost-efficient way. Montrose’s Real Time Platform is a resource to best direct this funding. Real Time Platform relays critical environmental data by monitoring the community’s air quality, analyzing it, and sending out notifications in real time. This is done through a network of sensors and mobile units continuously measuring air quality. Real Time provides a centralized data storage that backs up all previous readings, giving a secure archive of environmental data that can be collected from any linked technology. Real Time Platform integrates the entire community into air quality monitoring information. Every citizen can track events and hazards, opt to receive notifications and alerts, therefore expanding and improving local awareness and wellness.

Air pollution is linked to several diseases and life-threatening health issues. Communities with high concentrations of particulate matter and toxic air contaminants are disproportionately affected by these health concerns. Without proper air quality monitoring technology, emissions and exposure will go unknown, resulting in avoidable community health problems. To truly tackle air quality monitoring from a community standpoint, every citizen has to be informed and involved. With sensors being deployed at a local level, each community can specify their respective air pollution causes and imbalances, better defining steps for mitigation.

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