In a sunny August day last year, as diesel trucks belched fumes as they brought in equipment for Musikfest at Sand Island, County Execs Phil Armstrong (Lehigh) and Lamont McClure (NorCo) announced a project called Lehigh Valley Breathes. The plan was to install 40 air monitors throughout both counties. These measure tiny particulate matter called PM2.5. These are fine inhalable particles, less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter, that come from emissions of gasoline, oil, diesel fuel and burning wood. After collecting data for a full year through all four seasons, report is to be issued to both counties and to the public, including possible recommendations to municipal governments. How's this project going?
As of today, only 23 of the 40 monitors purchased by both counties have been installed.
According to the latest monthly report from Lehigh Valley Breathes, "our preliminary analysis of existing monitors shows that there are higher levels of average PM2.5 in areas that are proximate to roadways and warehouses than at our urban background sites." This seems like common sense. But interestingly, whenever I look at their ShinyApp, the highest concentrations of PM2.5 I've seen have been in Lower Mount Bethel, nowherenear a major roadway or warehouse.
23 comments:
More gubmint bullshit wasting more of our hard-earned tax dollars. 💲💲💲
Ron up that way? I'm guessing he could be a source
That website is as useless as the study it supports. Try to click on any of the hotspots for details and you get a message that an error has occurred. The people advocating for the program are clowns.
What? Please continue reporting on this. It makes no sense. Thanks.
The power plant ?
Does anyone have change for a 3.1 million dollar check
This is a brilliant project. I suggest that instead of “only” we recast it as “already”. There would be one more but for my having a hard time coordinating the willing installer with my apartment building’s management. We were so close. My building is right next to the spur route in Bethlehem and was a great candidate for a sensor.
So an amazing 20 out of 40 monitoring devices, show mind blowing conclusion that there’s more pollution around highways and warehouses than farmland areas.
Remind me again, why are we doing this?
What a waste of money.
Pektor’s development.
That’s where John Mauser lives. It’s picking up the hot air.
John, I fully support the project, but I'll stick with "only." I'd like more detail in the monthly reports and would like all monitors installed. The county and various municipalities would probably be amenable as well as school districts. The delay in getting this done compromises the quality.
Take a ride on 611 from Easton to Belvidere and report back please.
Look at the topography and then tack on the common westerly winds then it makes sense.
LVEDC says the air is fine. LVPC got a million dollars to study carbon pollution and one day may get around to it. LVIA is setting record air cargo traffic. LANTA is buying 100 yard natural gas buses. Meanwhile Allentown has the worst pediatric asthma rates in the Country. Does anyone care ?
County Council’s fully functioning EELU Committee must meet and conduct vigorous oversight immediately. Oh wait, Lori is a failed President and can’t organize anything.
Why is the Lehigh mountain hawks logo on the chart?
Seriously, 40 monitors for the entire county and it takes 6 months to set 20 up? Please tell us there is a better way.
Isn't Lower Mount Bethel the sewage sludge dumping ground for Nazareth until they get to dump it in Plainfield Township? Maybe that has something to do with the air quality readings on that farmland. But at least the good people of Nazareth don't have to deal with their shit or the smell.
This is a project manager by Lehigh University, I believe. Grad students are doing the fieldwork and coordinating installs. The value they get by collecting and crunching the data. Lehigh has an environmental sciences program and we benefit.
Note: the project scope can't be the entire valley. They picked 378 and 22 corridors if I remember correctly. The study is available for a deeper dive.
Bernie O’Hare to John, you are correct that LU students are doing the installs. Don’t think there is much fieldwork beyond that. And yes, the project scope actually is the entire LV. Some of the 20 installs are nowhere near a major road. That is really one of the purposes, how bad is our air quality beyond those places? I am quite concerned about Nazareth and Bath, where there’s often a lot of cement dust. That may actually be larger than PM2.5. We need to do this but yes, I am critical of the somewhat haphazard approach. I am sure there will be a thousand excuses but I would give it a C.
They haven't invented the monitor yet that is capable of detecting the amount of pollution that is generated on the third floor of the Courthouse in Easton.
Not surprised that Lower Mount Bethel Township has some of the highest levels. There are endless dump trucks traveling back and forth from the three stone quarries and one blacktop plant. Also, ever since the Tatamy / Rt 33 interchange opened, there is now endless tractor trailer traffic taking the short cut from the Tatamy/ Rt 33 interchange through Tatamy, Uhler Rd., Front St., Rt 611 to I-80 at Portland. And in reverse, from Portland to the Tatamy exchange. And this endless mass of truck traffic is all on PennDOT secondary, 2 lane roads which incorporates lots of steep hills that help spew diesel exhaust into the air. Oh, and let's not forget all the surrounding farming fields that are covered in Sludge / Bio-Solids. If you want to see if your Asthma medicine is working, come to LMBT.
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