Commerce City Environmental Justice Project
Commerce City is disproportionately impacted by airborne pollution given its proximity to various petrochemical operations (Suncor Energy Refinery, Magellan Pipeline Dupont Transfer Terminal, Mesa Oil), landfill & waste industries, as well as a network of interstate highways, making it one of the most polluted zip codes in the state of Colorado. There are 13 schools in the Adams 14 District with significant geographic exposure to these point sources. ÌýAs students and district employees in the community are required to be physically present in the schools yet have no control over the air they breathe or their exposure to pollution at work, the principles of environmental justice establish that they have the right to breathe clean air in their educational settings. ÌýÌý
Funded by the Environmental Justice Program of the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment, the University of Colorado, in partnership with the Adams 14 School District is working to characterize and control indoor air pollution in Commerce City Schools.Ìý
Specifically, the project will:Ìý
•ÌýÌýÌýÌýIdentify and deploy effective control strategies to address classroom indoor air quality issues.Ìý
•ÌýÌýÌýÌýCharacterize indoor air quality exposure profile in classrooms and the impact of HEPA PAC filters on classroom air quality.
•ÌýÌýÌýÌýEducate and engage students and community on school indoor air quality issues.
To date the project has:
- Installed HEPA PAC filters in all district classroomsÌý
- Installed indoor air quality monitors in 30% of classrooms
- Developed & distributed bilingual educational materials about HEPA PAC filters and air quality monitors
- Conducted a nationwide survey of school air quality management plansÌý
- Created bilingual air quality dashboards for all district schools
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