Washington, D.C., launched a pilot program Thursday aimed at measuring air quality in specific neighborhoods.
The D.C. Department of Energy and Environment hired Aclima, a San Francisco-based company, to gather air samples in the Ivy City/Brentwood, Buzzard Point and Mayfair neighborhoods.
Those areas were chosen for the first round of testing because they're at high risk of pollution, said Joseph Jakuta, with the D.C. Department of Energy and Environment.
"So all of these neighborhoods have a history of red-lining and putting industrial sources in them that are maybe not in other parts of city," Jakuta said.
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Aclima pays drivers like Fei Xle to ride around D.C. in a specially-equipped electric car.
"We drive 24/7," Xle said.
As Xle drives, a funnel on the side of the car grabs air samples that go through tubes and into a monitor in the trunk. That data is then sent to scientists in San Francisco, who compile and analyze it.
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"One of the main pollutants this will be measuring is called particulate matter. That was the main pollutant that came from the wildfires. Obviously, we're not seeing the same level of particulate pollution. But particulates ... are produced by diesel vehicles, they're produced by brake wear on cars, they're produced by asphalt plants."
The EPA already monitors the air quality of the District from five sites across the city. Over the past few decades, D.C.'s air quality has greatly improved, according to that data.
"For the first time ever, we are actually - our air quality levels are in compliance with all federal air quality standards," Jakuta said.
The pilot program with Aclima costs the city about $150,000, and D.C. has budgeted money to conduct more air quality testing in other neighborhoods next year.
Data from the tests will be made public sometime in September.
