Clean Air for Communities

Indoor and outdoor air pollution make people sick and kill people all over the world. To fight for clean air, community advocates need to be able to assess air quality.

ELAW partners around the world test air quality to clean the air and hold polluters accountable. We are pleased to advance this work through the latest addition to our Environmental Sampling Guide series: “Air Sampling for Communities.”

This user-friendly guide will help advocates learn the basics of air pollution and low-cost sampling methods for communities.

Residents of Kolwezi and Lubumbashi in the Democratic Republic of Congo suffer from dust and other air pollutants from gigantic open-pit mines that blanket the area. ELAW has worked with Emmanuel Umpula Nkumba and his colleagues at African Resources Watch (AFREWATCH) to help communities identify and monitor the pollutants.

“We’ve also worked with partners in Canada, Chile, Colombia, Honduras, Israel, Kenya, Sri Lanka, Uganda, Ukraine, and more to assess air pollutants and their sources,” says ELAW Scientist Dr. Meche Lu. “This data has helped local people take an active role in defending their environmental rights,” she says.

Meche worked together with ELAW Scientist Dr. Rye Howard to produce the Air Sampling Guide and help people around the world speak out for clean air. The Air Sampling Guide is the latest addition to ELAW’s Environmental Sampling Guides, now available for water, soil, and air. They are available on ELAW’s website in English and Spanish.

Many thanks to the Philip Stoddard Brown & Adele Smith Brown Foundation for making the Environmental Sampling Guides possible.

Bern Johnson
Executive Director
Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide