Air Management Services (Philadelphia) Profile

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  1. What person, group or organization is being profiled, and why are they of interest to this project?
    1. Air Management Services Monitors air quality, and analyzes for pollutants of concern. They also hear out citizen's complaints, and enforce emissions regulations.
  2. What have they done – through research, or a public health program or education forum, for example-- that illustrates how they have worked to improve air pollution governance and environmental public health?
    1. They hold public meetings and issue notices about what they're doing in the community so that the public can stay informed. The large amount of information & reports available on their website are also very comprehensive and useful. (public meetings)
    2. Philadelphia is a member city of the Green Village Project; because of this, the Air Management Services have community centered, real-time data monitoring stations that show how air quality fluctuates throughout the day.
    3. They enforce regulations dealing with Asbestos, which is a very hazardous material to breathe in, mostly affecting indoor air quality. They provide guidelines to removing asbestos safely, and guidelines for monitoring to make sure there are no dangerous levels remaining in a building. (asbestos)
    4. A collaborative project, the Philadelphia Diesel Difference is between the Clean Air Council and Air Management Services, as well as EPA. They encourage the use of clean diesel technologies. Past projects include fitting School Buses and fire trucks with diesel oxidation catalysts, that reduce the emissions of trucks. (diesel project)
  3. What timeline of events illustrates how this way of addressing environmental public health has developed?
    1. They provide a great timeline of air pollution control history in Philadelphia running from 1904 -2010. Based on this timeline, Philadelphia has cared about air quality for a long time, and has been striving to make improvements. (History of Air Pollution Control)
    2. 1964 -- they opened their first Air Monitoring Lab, still in operation today.
    3. 2003 -- the Philadelphia Diesel Difference project is launched. (diesel difference)
    4. March 2015 -- Joined the Green Village Project, which collects real-time air quality data, and makes that data available online. (Green Village)
  4. Does this person, group or organization claim to have a new or unique way of addressing environmental public health? Does this approach point to or suggest problems with other approaches?
    1. As part of the Diesel Difference project, linked above, they installed closed crankcase systems in school buses to keep fumes out of the bus interior, protecting the air quality for the children inside the bus.
  5. What data have they collected or used to support their approach to environmental public health? What visualizations of this data have been created?
    1. Here is an example of an annual air quality report they release yearly. This is a comprehensive report with many visualizations, including maps and charts that compare air quality (and composition of pollutants) over time.
    2. Daily air quality data is reported here, along with explanations of different pollutants and recommendations based on the pollution level.
  6. What research has the organization produce or draw on on in their initiatives – in the last year, and over the last decade?
    1. Some outside data that they have drawn on can be found here. Their own collected data is currently contributing to a national database run by the US EPA.
  7. What kinds of technology and infrastructure do they rely on in the production of environmental health care?
    1. At their air monitoring sites, they use many instruments and techniques to analyze the data for pollutants. Some of their methods are discussed here. This document also discusses each of the monitoring sites, and discusses data collected.
  8. What social ecology does this person, group or organization work within, and how did it shaped their way of conceiving and engaging asthma?
    1. As seen in the history of air governance document, Philadelphia has been fighting air pollution for a long time, and they seem to have good relations with the public. They are very transparent in their reporting, but don't actively teach the public about air quality issues.
  9. What events or data seem to have motivated their ways of thinking about and engaging environmental health?
    1. Asbestos was used in buildings all over in the 20th century, and the health concerns from these materials is still affecting Philadelphia today. The dangers of removing this material are addressed by Air Management Services, who oversee and regulate all Asbestos related activities in the city. (Asbestos)
  10. What funding enables their work and possibly shapes their way of thinking about environmental health?
    1. As a government organization, the taxpayers are funding Air Management Services. Some of their budget comes through the Air Quality Improvement Fund, controlled by the Air Improvement Board of the Department of Health.
  11. What in the history of this person, group or organization likely shaped the way they conceived or and engage environmental health?
    1. When the Clean Air Act Amendments were passed in 1967, it caused the Air Management services to really crack down on emissions. By 1970, they established air-monitoring facilities across the city, and took many polluters to court to enforce regulations. This really marked the beginning of the activities that Air Management Services continues today. (history)
  12. What does this person, group or organization seem to find methodologically challenging or concerning in dealing with environmental health?
    1. While they deal with pollution issues very well, this organization doesn't seem to have an educational aspect to their programs. One difficulty might be getting informed citizens, if people are unaware of things they can do to improve air quality and protect their own health.
  13. What kinds of governance are (implicitly or explicitly) called for in the way they think about environmental health?
    1. They are very active as an organization and use their regulatory and enforcement power to improve air quality. They see governance as a protective force that helps people control and remove hazardous pollutants, such as asbestos.
  14. How can The Asthma Files enable or supplement this way of thinking about environmental health, and the work of this person, group or organization?
    1. I think the school bus idea is a great one (mentioned in question 4) as it will protect children, who are among the groups most susceptible to air pollution.