skip to main content
skip to newscasts

Monday, April 7, 2025

Public News Service Logo
facebook instagram linkedin reddit youtube twitter
view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

Supreme Court temporarily blocks order requiring return of wrongly deported migrant; 1000 Women Strong outlines 2025 vision for Black women in Georgia; Montana map of news shows rural regions lose; Black residents in IL eight times more likely to be homeless.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The Israeli government promises to cooperate on tariffs. The Secretary of State says markets are not crashing, just adjusting and budget legislation moving in Congress makes room for Trump's tax cuts.

view newscast page
play newscast audioPlay

The proposed dismantling of the Depart. of Education has rural schools scared, postal carriers say USPS changes will hurt rural communities most, fiber networks to improve internet may be supplanted by Musk's satellites, and it's time to PLAY BALL!

New KY air monitoring project to address health effects of air pollution

play audio
Play

Friday, November 29, 2024   

A new air monitoring project aims to study the health effects of air pollution in west Louisville's Rubbertown neighborhood.

More than two decades ago, residents' advocacy spurred the creation of the Strategic Toxic Air Reduction program, which allows local areas to adopt air regulations beyond what the Environmental Protection Agency requires.

Byron Gary, program attorney for the Kentucky Resources Council, said the program was one of the most protective in the nation when it launched in the early 2000s, slashing local air pollution by 80%.

"The STAR program did effectively reduce the emissions from those facilities in West Louisville a great deal," Gary recounted. "It has done a pretty good job at making sure that any additional industry or changes to industry in that area does not backslide and cause cancer risks to go back up."

The three-year project will use multiple air-monitoring sites and a novel wastewater-sampling study to collect data. The West Jefferson County Community Task Force and other local groups are involved in the study and will host regular community meetings to discuss concerns and get residents' feedback.

Matt Mudd, communications coordinator for the Louisville Metro Air Pollution Control District, said findings from the Rubbertown Air Toxics and Health Assessment will be used to better understand how residents' exposure to toxic air pollution has changed over time.

"We haven't had a project of this scale to compare to that past West Louisville air toxic study until now," Mudd explained. "We're looking forward to having that data in hand, understand the progress that we've made, and then look at what's next."

Gary added the new study is needed to better pinpoint what hazards remain in an area long dominated by chemical and manufacturing industries.

"There's still progress to be made," Gary asserted. "There are still disparities between West Louisville, where predominantly Black residents live, compared to the rest of Louisville."

A study published earlier this year by Stanford Medicine researchers found Black Americans are significantly more likely to die from health problems linked to air pollution, specifically exposure to fine particulate matter or PM 2.5 pollution, compared with other racial and ethnic groups.

Disclosure: Kentucky Solar Energy Society and Kentucky Resources Council contributes to our fund for reporting on Energy Policy, Environment, Water. If you would like to help support news in the public interest, click here.


get more stories like this via email
more stories
Senate Bill 766 would prohibit California car dealers from selling add-ons that fail to benefit the buyer, such as service contracts that are invalid because the car was damaged in a prior crash or flood. (Nebojsa/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

A new bill to make car shopping more transparent goes before the California Senate Transportation Committee Tuesday. Senate Bill 766 would require …


Environment

play sound

Appalachian communities in Kentucky are poised to become manufacturing hubs for the wind energy industry, experts say. The region's workforce…

Social Issues

play sound

By Josh Israel for the Wisconsin Independent.Broadcast version by Judith Ruiz-Branch for Wisconsin News Connection reporting for the Wisconsin Indepen…


School vouchers, a program that would allow students to use public money to pay for private school tuition, has become a hot-button issue in Texas, pitting Republicans against one another. (KatMoy/Adobe Stock)

Social Issues

play sound

After several weeks of public comment, bills addressing school finance in Texas will be presented to the House of Representatives. House Bill 2 is …

Environment

play sound

The Comanche 3 coal-fired power plant in Pueblo, Colo., is set to close in just six years -- and community leaders, regulators, and Xcel are …

Environment

play sound

Minnesota is considered a national leader for community solar opportunities but a successful state program expanding solar access would end in the nex…

Environment

play sound

Wyoming's practice of feeding elk over winters is a century old but the spread of disease has increased concerns. Now, the Greater Yellowstone …

 

Phone: 303.448.9105 Toll Free: 888.891.9416 Fax: 208.247.1830 Your trusted member- and audience-supported news source since 1996 Copyright © 2021