Residents of Detroit's industrial southwest neighborhoods have demanded higher air quality standards. A computer that measures air pollution has recently been revealing spikes around the industrial plants of southwest Detroit. Around these industrial plants are whole neighborhoods surrounded by oil recycling plants, asphalt makers, a steel plant, a stinky composting yard, a salt factory and an expanding oil refinery. A woman who lives in the area decided to take her own air samples with the help of the national environmental monitoring group, Global Community Monitor, and found lead-laden dust, which could come from a steel mill nearby. Additionally, a few months ago, similar sampling found a dangerous chemical in the air -- methyl ethyl ketone, a gas that can cause numbness, tremors and gait problems. Methyl ethyl ketone, is commonly found in manufacturing plant emissions as well as specific products such as industrial glue and the exhaust of cars and trucks, according to the Centers for Disease Control's toxic substances registry. Fewer than 50 air monitors are present in the state of Michigan and residents would like to see this improve in the near future. I thought this article was interesting because it is a specific example of how air pollution has been becoming such a problem.
http://dc.streetsblog.org/2010/04/19/detroit-residents-press-epa-for-stronger-air-pollution-monitoring/
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