"Clouds settle low in the sky as dusk sets in across Pajaro Valley. Fields of strawberries stretch out as far as the eye can see, catching the last amber rays of the day. In the distance, the twin stacks of Moss Landing Power Plant sit among factories pushing plumes of smoke into the air. On the exterior wall of a house in Castroville, a newly installed sensor glows green with an important message: It's safe to go outside."
"For Maribel Martinez, a farmworker and mother living here, the information is crucial. Two of her children have asthma, and knowing when the air is hazardous to breathe is important for protecting their health. I always tell them to check the monitor before going out, she said. They know that if the monitor is red, we don't go outside. We close the doors and shut the windows."
"Martinez's sensor is one of several recently installed to monitor air pollution in Pajaro Valley by scientists at UC Santa Cruz. The work is part of a larger research project using drone flights and new monitoring technologies to better understand when and where farmworkers are most severely exposed to air pollution. Farmworkers like Martinez are grappling with extreme heat, pesticide exposure, and air pollution."
Pajaro Valley experiences agricultural landscapes near industrial pollution sources such as Moss Landing Power Plant. Residents and farmworkers rely on newly installed outdoor sensors to determine when air is safe; green indicates safe, red indicates staying indoors. A UC Santa Cruz initiative combines drone flights and distributed sensors to map air pollution exposure for farmworkers. Farmworkers face extreme heat, pesticide exposure, wildfire smoke and vehicle emissions. Early morning work to avoid heat increases exposure to pollutants like PM2.5 and ground-level ozone. PM2.5 penetrates lungs and bloodstream, worsening asthma and heart disease. Communities contributing least to climate change bear disproportionate health burdens.
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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