SJV-CAIR DOJ Grant
San Joaquin Valley Center for Air Injustice Reduction
UC Merced's Health Sciences Research Institute (HSRI) was awarded a $1.2 million grant to study the effects of vehicle emissions on public health and the environment. This award is part of a $10 million program by the California Department of Justice to support research on the effects of vehicle emissions on human health.
HSRI, in partnership with the Stockton nonprofit organization Little Manila Rising, received the award to address the health impacts in the San Joaquin Valley. Specifically, the funds from the Automobile Emissions Research and Technology Fund grant will be used to launch a mobile air quality laboratory and health assessment clinic; deploy community air quality monitoring networks in Stockton and Fresno by installing 125 new PurpleAir monitors; and establish a permanent community-university air quality research and clinical center at UC Merced. Air quality sensors will be placed around Fresno County as part of a partnership with the Fresno County Department of Public Health. Additionally, HSRI will be working with Little Manila Rising to install the air quality monitors throughout the city of Stockton, such as near schools and hospitals.
The fully integrated research center at UC Merced will be structured to continue long after the funded activities are completed. Meanwhile, the mobile lab and clinic will provide a venue for collecting environmental monitoring and biomedical and health information from residents living in south Stockton and surrounding underserved communities, with the potential for future expansion to other areas of the Valley. Such information is important for communities to make informed policy decisions and to advocate for community improvements.