Title
CDPHE Air Monitoring
Body
Summary and Background Information:
Industrial areas geographically centered in North Denver and Commerce City are home to the Suncor Refinery, the Cherokee Generating Station, Denver’s major water treatment facility, several highly congested highways, in addition to a multitude of additional industrial facilities. These areas also have a high interface between residential and industrial land uses, which have been historically under-represented in terms of air quality monitoring, due, in part, to the challenges in monitoring in a highly multi-jurisdictional area. Residents living in this area are subject to disproportionate health and environmental inequities compared to other Front Range communities. In order to better understand community health and exposure as well as to better characterize industrial and mobile sources of emissions in this area, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) is interested in expanding air monitoring efforts in the North Denver/Commerce City area.
CDPHE proposes a collaborative effort involving the Cities of Denver and Commerce City, Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT), Adams County and the Tri-County Health Department with the goal of establishing an ongoing air quality monitoring presence in the area. The goal is to leverage a shared data platform to present this data and findings to the public. CDPHE would like to kick off these efforts immediately with screening-level Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) sensor devices placed in Denver, Commerce City and at sites in Adams County. These sensors can identify the presence of pollution and the need for further study.
While developing this collaborative effort, CDPHE has identified an opportunity to deploy the Colorado Air Monitoring Mobile Laboratory which is capable of detail evaluation of the presence of VOCs and Criteria Pollutants as well as serving as a base for specialized collections for other Air Toxics. The CAMML could operate at a site intermittently for at least two years (2021-22’) in 3-4 week bursts. CDPHE has preliminarily identified Eagle Pointe Recreation Center as a potential location for the CAMML monitoring lab.
CDPHE is also in the process of commissioning an on-road mobile laboratory that is optimized for facility emissions estimates. This mobile lab’s capabilities compliment but do not duplicate those of the CAMML. CDPHE expects that lab to be operational starting Summer 2021 or sooner, and could operate that lab in the area intermittently in one (1) week increments through the end of 2022. Moreover, CDPHE is committed to providing data in timely manner for evaluation and collaboration with our Toxicology and Environmental Epidemiology Office. CDPHE understands a high value is placed on the development of a shared data platform that will serve all the participating partners and allow the free exchange of data among partners and with the public.
As part of the collaboration, CDPHE’s Toxicology and Environmental Epidemiology office will periodically assess the air monitoring results to evaluate the potential health risks to nearby communities and share the results with participating partners and the public. Both the monitoring and these assessments will provide meaningful information both on what we know and what we don't know about the causes of health inequities in the North Denver and Commerce City area. Providing this information, in both English and Spanish, will empower both the members of the community and its leaders to address the inequities.
Staff Responsible (Department Head): Jason Rogers, Community Development Director
Staff Member Presenting: Domenic Martinelli, Environmental Planner, Local Government Designee (LGD)
Outside Presenters:
Daniel Bon, PhD Mobile Lab Lead Investigator, CDPHE
Sean Hackett, Energy Liasion, CDPHE
Tara Webster, Environmental Health Coordinator, CDPHE
Financial Impact: Unknown at this time
Funding Source: Unknown at this time
Staff Recommendation: N/A Study session is for feedback only - no vote is needed