Poultry operations on the Delmarva Peninsula (Delaware, Maryland and Virginia) pollute the air, water and soil of neighboring communities. Ammonia, particulate matter (PM) and nitrogen are some of the major pollutants from the waste, feed and other byproducts of poultry production. Impacted communities tend to be low-income or communities with high percentages of Hispanic populations, creating an environmental justice issue. Our team from the Sussex Health & Environmental Network (SHEN), the Sentinels of Eastern Shore Health (SESH), and Johns Hopkins University (JHU), are proposing a community-based air monitoring network to examine particulate matter, gas concentrations and fecal contamination from poultry operations and related infrastructure on the Eastern Shore. In Aim 1, we will deploy 4 stationary PM monitors and mobile gas monitoring to supplement an existing PM unit; this will create a monitoring network to quantify community air pollution attributable to poultry CAFOs and related biofuel infrastructure. In Aim 2, we will use poultry-specific fecal microbial source tracking markers to quantify community surface contamination. In Aim 3, we will work with our community partners to disseminate the gained knowledge and provide scientific support and evidence for current and future policy changes and legal action that are ongoing in the region. We plan to build capacity for community science by creating a community-led and -maintained air monitoring network, as well as characterize poultry CAFO-related air pollution in the Eastern Shore region of Maryland and Delaware.

Curtis Bay’s coal terminal is one of America’s oldest such facilities having been built in the 1880’s in what was a thriving working-class community. Over the years, industrial facilities continued to expand in Curtis Bay. Today, predominantly low-income and African-American, Curtis Bay is socially cohesive and culturally rich, but remains plagued by environmental hazards and threats to health and quality of life from expansions of industrial facilities. For example, in December 2021, a major explosion caused by a buildup of methane and particulate coal dust in tunnels at the CSX coal terminal. This incident galvanized residents who organized with the Community of Curtis Bay Association (CCBA) and South Baltimore Community Land Trust (SBCLT) around the goals of reversing decisions on industrial facility expansions and advancing a vision of fair development to spark transitions away from industrial operations toward improvements of neighborhood environmental conditions that promote residents’ health and well-being. CCBA and SBCLT achieve these goals by educating the public, local media, and politicians about on-going problems in their community. To better inform educational outreach, CCBA and SBCLT initiated research on their own, canvassing homes and collecting residents’ testimony and concerns with the coal terminal, including the explosion. In 2022, CCBA and SBCLT partnered with the Bloomberg School of Public Health to systematically gather data on air pollutant emissions from the coal terminal. The proposed project builds on this community-based participatory research (CBPR) partnership to: (1) quantify community exposures to air pollution emissions from the CSX coal terminal; (2) evaluate relationships between air pollution exposures and neighbor’s ratings of coal dust accumulation, malodor, health, irritation, quality of life, and mood measures; (3) support SBCLT’s efforts to adapt and replicate this pilot in coal terminal host-communities facing similar environmental and health disparities. This pilot will provide preliminary scientific data on the health effects of coal dust, uniquely positioning us to extend our approach to coal terminal host communities across the Maryland region and the U.S.

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is severely debilitating for patients, caregivers, and the healthcare system. Given a lack of effective pharmacologic treatments; physical, cognitive, and social engagement have all been identified as promising non-pharmacologic preventions for AD. Yet, existing research linking activity engagement to AD typically focuses on the individual and ignores the environmental context that contributes to health and health behaviors. Neighborhood walkability (e.g., proximity of destinations, street connectivity, safety, public transit) is one such factor that may facilitate activity engagement and cognitive health in later life. To address this gap, we propose to link neighborhood data with multimodal, individual-level activity measures to assess how walkability contributes to AD-related risk behaviors for older adults in the Baltimore Experience Corps Trial (BECT). We further plan to examine whether the BECT volunteering intervention was especially effective at improving activity for older adults in less walkable areas, who may face barriers to activity engagement in their immediate environment. The proposed project naturally builds upon the PI’s (Dr. Moored’s) research on activity engagement and AD risk by adding an environmental perspective. This project is especially relevant for the CHARMED Pilot Program, given its inclusion of residents from a representative cross-section of Baltimore City neighborhoods. Importantly, this work would provide a foundation for future research to inform novel yet equitable structural interventions of interest to community stakeholders (e.g., Baltimore City Division of Planning, Baltimore Commission on Aging, AARP Foundation) to encourage activity engagement and reduce AD risk in older Baltimore residents.

Petrochemical and other industrial facilities in southern Delaware County, PA pose ongoing environmental health concerns to fenceline residents. A successful partnership between residents, community groups and JHU researchers yielded high resolution air quality measurements that demonstrate elevated air pollution levels. Building on this work, the goal of this pilot is to generate a holistic snapshot of current community concerns regarding environmental and non-chemical stressors, and assess community perspectives and priorities for health-related intervention. Using quantitative (survey) and qualitative (focus groups) methods, we will focus on building trust and capacity for future environmental health and advocacy work. We will leverage these findings to pursue additional funding opportunities to inform policy solutions that prevent new environmental hazards, reduce existing hazards, and heal past damage in these environmental justice communities.