Bad Air in the Bronx

There’s no city quite like the Big Apple – but New York City is not immune from some of the biggest problems in today’s modern metropolitan areas.

One of them is air pollution.

Locals and federal agencies have been looking at the problem for decades. Now, that research is coming to a head. One example is the controversial implementation of a congestion pricing system. This applies to traffic in lower Manhattan. It’s a busy area. And it’s one that’s getting a lot of attention.

The basic idea is that vehicles coming in below 60th St. will be charged a fee for traffic access, in order to limit congestion. For a regular vehicle, it’s nine dollars. There’s a whole fee schedule for trucks, etc.

But the rules for the system are complicated. For instance, those on nearby freeways aren’t charged unless they “exit into” the congestion pricing zone. And then there’s the idea of complex incentives. How will those change traffic? Some people looking at the plan are thinking that it could add more vehicles to the Bronx. That’s because they might move around congestion pricing restrictions and try to avoid these tolls.

The plan might lead more vehicles to use the George Washington Bridge or other nearby infrastructure.

More Air Fixes

Local news affiliates report that part of the city’s plan is to use the resulting money to add air filtration to local schools.

There’s also a program to address asthma within both the Bronx and Manhattan.  A NYC Health Brief from the city shows why this is a problem, explaining:

“Asthma is a chronic respiratory disease. (It’s) characterized by airway inflammation and hyper-responsiveness that can lead to recurrent episodes of wheezing, difficulty breathing, tightness in the chest, and coughing. These episodes are typically due to airflow obstruction in the lung that either resolves on its own or in response to treatment.”

The report further shows that asthma has larger effects on black and latino children. It also affects people living in high-poverty neighborhoods. Researchers estimate that 17% of children ages 13 and younger residing in the Bronx had been diagnosed with asthma at some point as of 2017. In other areas of the city, that number is more like 11%.

So that shows why some of this money is going to asthma prevention measures.

Unclear Policy Trajectory for Congestion Pricing Plan

But there’s another wrinkle to the congestion pricing plan. The White House seems likely to shut down the program, despite the objection of local leaders. So it’s unclear whether this new fee system will remain in effect. The issue is in the courts.

Improving Air Quality – Multiple Approaches

When it comes to breathing easier, no matter where you are in the U.S., there’s a two-pronged objective. First, you want to improve the air in your community as a whole. Second, you want to improve the air around you. As someone who lives and works in a particular place, you want clean air for you. As the head of a household, or a small business leader, you want it for everyone. But how do you get it?

Just like with the New York schools, it’s possible to improve quality of life and health with indoor air purification equipment. Air purifiers can easily be installed at homes and businesses.

So as people work to decrease air pollution, it’s also possible to scrub out a lot of these contaminants in the places that we inhabit most of the day and night.

Testing Your Indoor Air

That process starts with an air monitor. Using one of these, you can see what kinds of contaminants are moving around in your indoor air.

You can test for natural health risks like mold and dust mites. You can also look for volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other contaminants.

Then you can install air purifier machine machines to scrub these pollutants out of the air.

You can also choose from a wide array of machines. Some models have extra filtration. Others pioneer ground-breaking technologies like probiotics, where the purifier releases beneficial microbes to balance out potentially harmful bacteria in the indoor air.

You can also look for ratings like ACH, which measures the air changes per hour that the machine can provide based on a particular square footage. There’s also cubic feet per minute, CFM, which refers to the power of the motor and how it moves air over time. To calculate these numbers, you’ll need to know the square footage of the space, the ceiling height, and any other calculations for an irregular space (like a curved ceiling). 

Let US Air Purifiers LLC help with model design, effectiveness, pricing, features and more – to make sure that you get the right purchase, and have peace of mind about your indoor air. The company has a track record of helping our customers to make the right decisions about air purification for a home or business. Make an investment in your health and breathe easier over time.