Community Research Initiatives
CCRAB promotes safe, healthy, and just neighborhoods within environmental justice communities in the Charleston region through community-based participatory research and citizen science. CCRAB facilitates numerous university-community partnerships to investigate environmental and public health concerns identified by residents including but not limited to: air quality, soil quality, water quality, and flooding and climate change impacts.
Omar Muhammad, Executive Director of the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC)
Herb Fraser-Rahim, Co-Founder of CCRAB and Board Member of the Lowcountry Alliance for Model Communities (LAMC)
AIR QUALITY / AIR POLLUTION
Skip Mikell, CCRAB Board Chair and President of Union Heights, Windsor Place and Howard Heights Neighborhood Association
CCRAB's air monitoring network includes two types of monitoring devices:
1) Community "Screening" Monitors (PurpleAir)
PurpleAir monitors are stationed in the yards of residents and shared community spaces to screen for “hotspots” or concerning air quality trends for further investigation.
2) Fixed-Site Regulatory Monitors
Fixed-site regulatory monitors collect real-time high quality data that matches data standards of state and federal environmental agencies, and can be used to hold polluters accountable.
What do we measure?
All monitors measure an air pollutant known as particulate matter (PM2.5). PM 2.5 are fine particles not visible to the naked eye and pose the greatest risks to health, as they can get into peoples’ lungs and bloodstream, causing respiratory and cardiovascular diseases with long-term exposure.
Common sources for this type of pollution include combustion engines (both diesel and petrol), solid-fuel (coal, lignite, heavy oil and biomass) combustion for energy production in households and industry, as well as other industrial activities (building, mining, manufacture of cement, ceramic and bricks, and smelting).
CCRAB coordinates the Charleston Community Air Monitoring Network (CCAMN), a collaboration between near-port communities, academia, industry, and regulatory agencies to coordinate across multiple air pollution data collection activities and improve local knowledge of air quality among local residents.
FLOODING & FLOOD-WATER POLLUTION
Herbert Maybank, CCRAB Board Member and Rosemont Community Improvement Workgroup Member
CCRAB is currently supporting the Rosemont community to document flooding in their neighborhood through three initiatives:
1) #FloodWatch Residential Monitoring Stations:
Webcams collect data on tide and flooding trends
Flood sensors collect depth of standing water at base of pole
Rain gauges collect volume and rate of rainfall.
CLICK HERE TO VIEW DATA COLLECTED SO FAR
2) Citizen Science Water Quality Sampling:
A cohort of residents are trained and compensated to collect water samples during flood events. Samples are sent to a lab for processing and then the results are returned to CCRAB to be entered into a secure database co-owned by CCRAB and residents.
3) Mapping the Hydrology of the Neighborhood
Using LIDAR imagery and GIS analysis to map how water moves through the neighborhood; and resident's firsthand knowledge to ground-truth the models.
Flooding on Peace Street.