The City of Tacoma has secured a $667,500 grant from the Washington State Department of Ecology’s Air Quality in Overburdened Communities Program. This grant is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act (CCA). The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health.
More information about our air purifier distribution project will be posted here soon.
Regional Air Quality Resources:
- Puget Sound Clean Air Agency: A special-purpose, regional government agency chartered by state law in 1967. PSCAA's jurisdiction covers King, Kitsap, Pierce, and Snohomish counties.
- Tacoma-Pierce County Health Department: County-wide resource for air quality issues such as burn bans, air quality complaints, wood burning stove requirements, and more.
Air Quality Monitoring in Tacoma
Air quality affects all community members, however some neighborhoods experience burdens based on proximity to industry, the built environment, or different housing types. The City plans to use data gathered from air quality sensors to prioritize infrastructure funding and program efforts to address climate change – such as mitigating heat islands, assessing impacts of heat and smoke events, and identifying tree planting priorities.
PurpleAir: Existing Air Quality Monitors
There are currently dozens of PurpleAir sensors installed in the Tacoma area which monitor air quality in real-time. Most of these sensors are owned and operated by private residents and/or organizations, and are not maintained by the City of Tacoma. The data collected using PurpleAir sensors is intended to be educational and non-regulatory, meaning air quality levels reported cannot be used for permitting, compliance, policy, or interpretation of health effects.
Explore the map below, or visit purpleair.com for more information.