HOUSTON – In an effort to protect and advocate for the health of their community, leaders in the historic Sunnyside neighborhood in southeast Houston have installed a network of five new air monitors.
The non-profit Sunnyside Community Redevelopment Organization used grant money awarded to them in late 2020 by the Environmental Defense Fund to purchase and install the equipment.
The monitors will measure the most widespread and deadliest air pollutants that residents believe are impacting their health.
“I’m constantly wearing a mask regardless of COVID with what I’m breathing in out here,” said Debra Walker, president of the Sunnyside Community Redevelopment Organization.
Sunnyside is oversaturated with industrial companies like concrete batch plants, rock quarries and recycling facilities that contribute to poor air quality. Car emissions from traffic on 610 have been picked up on the monitors in recent days.
The monitors will show color-coded air quality levels in real-time while gathering data around the clock.