HOPEWELL — Those hoping to lend a hand in exploring air quality in the
area have a great chance this week. Representatives from Global
Community Monitor and the Sierra Club will be in town helping residents
check on the city’s air pollution.
“We’ve been aware that citizens in Hopewell
are concerned sometimes about their air quality,” said Hannah Wiegard,
a Sierra Club intern. “Of course the industries are following the law,
but sometimes things aren’t as nice as they could be.”
The
Sierra Club has organized four chances to meet with Denny Larson and
Ruth Breech of Global Community Monitor, who go across the country
helping communities learn more about their pollution issues. Hopewell
is the second most-polluted locality in the state after neighboring
Chesterfield County, the Sierra Club said.
During two meetings
at the Appomattox Regional Library Tuesday and Wednesday at 6 p.m.,
citizens will build special buckets that are the key to air monitoring.
During a May meeting, Jim Gould of the Sierra Club explained how the
buckets work.
When strong smells or other air problems occur,
the bucket-watcher would hook a vacuum cleaner up to the device to suck
an air sample into a lung-sized plastic bag. After signing legal
paperwork affirming they haven’t tampered with the sample, a laboratory
tests it. While the Environmental Protection Agency only tests for a
handful of compounds, these lab tests can pick up 89 pollutants.
Community members will be given free reign with the test results.
“Once they get the reports back to the lab, they can decide what to do with the information,” Wiegard said.
Global
Community Monitor reps will also meet with two local service
organizations, the Hopewell Kiwanis Club and Prince George Rotary Club.
Those will take place during their regular meetings.
• Patrick Kane may be reached at 722-5155 or pkane@progress-index.com.
Meet with Global Community Monitoring
• Informational sessions and sample bucket building, Appomattox Regional Library, 6-8:30 p.m. Tuesday and Wednesday
