A Seasonal Investigation of Ambient Air Quality in the Mississippi Delta
AMELIA SMITH, Samuel Smith, Abigail Barnett, Katarina Lindskog, Ryan Chartier, Tracy Dombek, Courtney Roper, RTI International
Abstract Number: 228
Working Group: Remote and Regional Atmospheric Aerosol
Abstract
The Mississippi Delta region includes 18 counties in West Mississippi (MS), USA. Primarily a rural, agricultural region, community members face health disparities, including increased rates of chronic illness, disproportionate hospitalizations from asthma, and overburdened healthcare facilities. Health initiatives work to combat these issues, yet environmental risk factors remain understudied, specifically, poor air quality. Community air sensors and surveys provide a means to investigate potential links between the environment and human health. The goal of this project was to measure air quality using real-time sensors in areas currently unmonitored by traditional air quality networks to reveal hotspots and patterns that could impact and degrade air quality, as well as assess environmental health literacy in the Mississippi Delta region. Surveys addressing environmental exposure concerns were distributed and used to support both outreach programming and pollutant characterization. Field sampling utilizing real-time PM2.5 monitoring (PurpleAir Inc.), was initiated at three Mississippi locations; two in the Mississippi Delta, including the Greenville and Shellmound and one in Oxford, a comparison site in North MS. PM2.5 sampling (SKC IMPACT, SKC, and Micro Personal Exposure Monitors (mPEM), (RTI International) and passive sampling of NOx and NH3 (Ogawa & Co., USA) were also deployed in Shellmound, MS. Air quality data measured using the mPEM and PurpleAir Zen sensor revealed a pattern of sustained, elevated PM2.5 concentrations indicative of a local hotspot that is degrading air quality in the Delta. These findings underscore the need for more comprehensive monitoring to understand the associated health impacts of air quality in the MS Delta. Characterization of PM2.5 composition, source identification and mapping, as well as comparison between sampling sites will provide critical information to understand the health risks associated with air quality in rural locations. This information can in turn be used to educate and promote environmental health literacy within rural communities.