Environmental justice advocates have announced a $250,000 investment to monitor Memphis’ air quality issues.
Today, Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) board chair Rep. Justin J. Pearson (D-Memphis) and director of environmental justice KeShaun Pearson announced the investment in partnership with The Center for Engagement, Environmental justice and Health INpowering communities.
MCAP’s inv estment seeks to monitor air standards in Southwest Memphis —a community that advocates said has been disproportionately affected by environmental racism.
“This is the most significant and tangible investment in air quality monitoring in South Memphis in recent history,” Justin said. “We have yet to see monitoring in South Memphis by any agency, nonprofit, or community group that is dedicated to increasing the life expectancy and improving the life experiences of people who live here, especially concerning smog and ground level ozone pollution.
Memphis’ air quality and its effects on its citizens have long been a topic of controversy. In June, the Southern Environmental Law Center (SELC) urged the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to intervene regarding the city’s air quality standards.
The American Lung Association also gave Shelby County an “F” for ozone pollution.
The news also comes a week after the city released its own testing results that found no dangerous pollutants in Boxtown, Whitehaven, or Downtown. Officials said this was the result of community concerns regarding environmental conditions.
The laboratory’s results, which the city called “definitive and reassuring,” found levels to be either “too low to detect” or “well below established safety thresholds.”
While the city and xAI have been reassured by the data, Justin and other environmental advocates have called the results “flawed.”
“The previous report by the mayor was manipulated,” Boxtown resident Sarah Gladney said. “We are the people who live out here 365 days a year and we know what’s in the air.”
Gladney said she is thankful that MCAP is investing in more monitoring.