NASA adds major polluter to National Environmental Justice Database
Science: NASA announced earlier this week that scientists have used satellite technology to track a major air pollutant that was previously absent from the national database, an important step in monitoring differences in air quality across the U.S. and identifying groups whose health is disproportionately affected. Measurements of nitrogen dioxide, which is released into the air primarily from the burning of fossil fuels and can cause respiratory illnesses like asthma, among other health problems, were missing from the Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool, or EJScreen. The database is maintained by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is used by the organization as well as state and local agencies to keep track of vulnerable populations and neighborhoods with high environmental burdens. The Ozone Monitoring Instrument, or OMI, on NASA’s Aura satellite, which has provided Earth’s air quality data for the past two decades, sees what human eyes cannot see, including potentially dangerous pollutants in our air. From its vantage point in space, Aura tracked the ozone hole over Antarctica several years ago and has followed its subsequent healing since an international ban on the man-made chemicals was put in place. The satellite also collected nitrogen dioxide values in the U.S. down to a resolution of 0.6 miles (1 kilometer), NASA said.
