Kingston air quality is good, one-year study shows

Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
Email
Print
Rondout waterfront

KINGSTON – A one-year study of Kingston’s air quality by measuring fine particulate matter has given the city good grades.

The city partnered with the Center for the Study of Land, Air and Water at Bard College to conduct the study by measuring air quality from the roof of the Andy Murphy Neighborhood Center on Broadway and found that while particulate matter levels varied, levels rarely reached dangerous thresholds as regulated by the EPA.

Occasional spikes in daily averages do occur, and potential sources include burning fuel for heating during cold winter months. Only one date, in February 2020, surpassed the EPA’s 24-hour public health threshold.

Fine particulate matter, PM 2.5, is made up of microscopic particles that are the products of burning fuel, and is released into the air through exhausts from oil burners, gas burners, automobiles, cooking, grilling, and both indoor and outdoor wood burning.

Evidence shows that even very small increases in exposure to PM 2.5 can lead to higher death rates in people who have contracted COVID-19.

“The initial findings of local air quality here in Kingston have been eye-opening,” said Mayor Steven Noble. “The particulates that the KAQI (Kingston Air Quality Initiative) is monitoring are extremely harmful and we are relieved to see that our community is not experiencing a high rate of these particulates in our air.”




Popular Stories