Sensors will be placed within the next month near River Metals Recycling, also known as RMR, to test air quality over the next year.
The PurpleAir sensors will measure particulate matter, or PM 2.5, which is fine, inhalable particulates in the air such as organic chemicals, heavy metals, dust, etc. The sensors will be placed at 14 locations near RMR in Newport, with one in Wilder. Results will be shared with the Kentucky Energy and Environmental Cabinet Division for Air Quality to determine RMR’s compliance with The Clean Air Act and air quality permits.
The Clean Air Act is intended to reduce and control air pollution nationwide.
The Northern Kentucky Sierra Club is leading the effort in collaboration with Newport residents and the Environmental Protection Agency Division 4, which serves Kentucky. According to the NKY Sierra Club, they hope to start sensor placement in November.
NKY Sierra Club members Andrea Ankrum and Preston Knibbe will be in charge of collecting the data daily. The project will be assessed at six months to determine if enough data has been compiled to meet the objectives. Ankrum said they will also be sending the Environmental Protection Agency and the state data on a routine basis so they can see what progress they’re making.
She said they will share reports with the public along the way, but they will not be in real-time to avoid people making assumptions about the data.
Before the sensors can begin collecting data, they will be taken to the University of Northern Kentucky for two weeks, where they will be tested against the federal reference sensor to ensure they are working correctly.
The sensors utilize an “a” channel and a “b” channel to ensure the other will still gather information if one fails.
Newport resident Annette Kitchen, who has helped lead efforts to get RMR to change its daily operations since around 2019, said the Environmental Protection Agency Division 4 has a team of six or seven scientists working with them to outline and review their data telling them what they can and can’t do.
“The data integrity is of utmost importance because again, data, if it’s measured against nothing, it means nothing,” Kitchen said. “This is measured against humidity; it will be measured about how high your monitor is, where it’s located, and what part of your house it will be. It gets into specifics and asks residents to attest that they will follow these stringent guidelines.”
Ankrum said there is a minimum level of compliance with the Clean Air Act that the Environmental Protection Agency has put out, which some states, like California, have stricter rules they follow, but Kentucky “does the bare minimum” to meet those needs.
“All of those come out in legislation,” Ankrum said. “We have to write a plan so we can change that; they need a reason to change because they think we’re doing fine.”
Newport Commissioner Ken Rechtin, who has been heavily involved in Newport’s west end to remediate RMR issues, said they would have “actionable data” through the sensors.
Ankrum said part of Kentucky’s permit allows businesses like RMR to have someone walk the perimeter one day a week and check if they “see anything.” If they don’t, they pass.
“That’s one moment in time,” Ankrum said. “That’s one person. What about the rest of the week? It’s just very questionable.”
Residents near RMR have been critical of the smell that emanates from the site. West side resident Catherine McElwain said during an NKY Sierra Club meeting that she could “taste the pollution” in the air.
Aside from the sensors, a Newport resident also volunteered to record RMR’s daily practices on camera from their home.
The information collected will be shared across the county and used to analyze the 250 open-top shredders across the U.S., like what RMR uses.
“Honestly, that’s something that makes me very proud and excited for and the fact that you guys (NKY Sierra Club) are supporting us, the city is supporting us, and then the complementarity program. It all works just to have a better-quality environment, not as much for our generation but the future,” Kitchen said.
Aside from air quality efforts, residents like Kitchen and Rechtin have followed the court case of Commonwealth v. River Metals Recycling for the noise.
Here is a timeline of events in that case since earlier this year:
April: Newport residents may soon get their day in court with River Metals Recycling
May: Trial date set for two-year-old River Metals Recycling case
June: Trial date for two-year-old River Metals Recycling case pushed back
August: Newport, River Metals Recycling working toward agreement: ‘I think this is a significant win’
September: Pretrial conference set for October in River Metals Recycling case
October: Pretrial conference in River Metals Recycling case pushed to next month
