Pima County

Description:the Purpose of This Competitively Selected Cooperative Agreement Is to Conduct Ambient Air Monitoring of Pollutants of Greatest Concern in Communities With Environmental and Health Outcome Disparities Stemming From Pollution and the COVID-19 Pandemic. the Applicant and Partners Will Leverage Relationships With Multiple School Districts Throughout Pima County to Deploy and Operate Additional Low-cost Outdoor Air Pollution Sensors Improving Exposure Measurements of Selected Air Pollutants for the Entire Population, Especially Identified Environmental Justice Locations. Based on Data Collected by These Sensors, Project Partners Will Develop Models to Predict Air Pollution Levels Across the County and Develop Action Plans. Finally, the Partners Will Use the Data to Develop Modules to Educate Students for Community Science Efforts, Such as Education Sessions on Air Pollution and Related Health Effects and the Relationship Between Data and Localized Environmental Justice Issues Identified by the Students. This Agreement Provides Full Federal Funds in the Amount of $488,210.00. Preaward Costs Are Approved Back to 7/1/2023.ACTIVITIES:THESE Funds Will Be Used to Support Community and Local Efforts to Monitor Their Own Air Quality and to Promote Air Quality Monitoring Partnerships Between Communities and Tribal, State, and Local Governments That: Leverage Existing Air Quality Expertise, Expand Use of Community Monitoring Groups and Other Approaches That Give the Community a Voice in the Monitoring of the Air Quality, and Build a Foundation of Trusting Relationships and Enhanced Understanding From Which Sustainable Solutions to Community Air Pollution Problems Can Be Found. Specifically, the Recipient Will: Establish a Network of Low-cost Sensors Measuring Particulate Matter and Gaseous Pollutants in Tucson Area Schools; Construct Spatiotemporal Models Applying Land Use Regression and Machine Learning Approaches to Predict Air Pollution Levels Across Pima County; and Develop Community Science Education Plans at Schools to Educate Students.subrecipient:subaward to University of Arizona for Project Sensor Placement, Data Analysis, Modeling, Curriculum Development, Implementation and Project Coordination. the Recipient Intends to Issue Subaward Agreements to Its Partners in Compliance With Appendix a of Epa's Subaward Policy.outcomes:expected Deliverables Include: Recruiting Schools and Obtaining School Approval; Hiring and Training Staff; Purchasing Air Sensors; Co-locating Sensors With Regulatory Monitors; Installing Air Sensors in 30 Schools; Monitoring Air Quality and Obtaining Data; Consulting With Community Partners; Implementing School-based, Student-led Science Program in Participating High Schools; Creating an Educational Toolkit and Training Video; Creating an Online Download, Analysis, and Visualization Portal; Data Modeling, Cleaning and Analysis; Generating Manuscripts and Reports. Expecting Outputs and Outcomes Include: Generation of a Summary Report; Deployment of Sensors at Pima County Schools; Increased Problem Identification; Increased Community Awareness; Measuring Student Participation; Student Knowledge; Student Leadership Skills, Teacher Knowledge and Participation of Undergraduate and Graduate Student Interns; Pre- and Post-evaluation Surveys; a Post-program Evaluation. Intended Beneficiaries Include: Direct Beneficiaries of These Activities Are Pima County Community Students and Residents Who Have Decreased Risk of Adverse Health Effects, as Well as the General Public.