The Tri-County Watchdogs (TCW) met at Cuddy Hall on Friday the 15th to share with the community their plans for two air monitors.  TCW received a $25,000 grant from the Rose Foundation and is partnering with Global Community Monitor (GCM) to receive guidance on how to operate and manage the small, mobile devices.  GCM representatives Denny Larson and Jessica Hendricks were present.

The monitors are about 10 inches in diameter, between 2 to 2 1/2 feet tall and are light enough for 1 person with some strength to move.  They are built to trap particulates in the air, that are known to air quality agencies as PM 2.5, while measuring the airflow.  This will allow scientists and analysts to gauge the concentration of PM 2.5 in the air near selected locations. 

"Particulate Matter" is of course a very general term that can include anything from dust/soil and pollen to ash, smoke some heavy metals.  Arsenic was mentioned several times by Denny Larson, Executive Director of GCM, but he said some of that might be naturally occurring and implied some tests away from roadways and industry should be done so "man-caused", or anthropogenic, can be separated from what enters the air by wind stirring up our dry soil.

Denny Larson said GCM will have a lab perform X-ray analysis on particulates collected to identify what they are; to distinguish man-made from naturally occuring.

TCW intends to spend some time monitoring TXI in Lockwood Valley and National Cement in Gorman.  TCW president Linda MacKay expressed her concern about diesel and auto exhaust along the I-5: Flying J, rest stops, El Tejon and Frazier Mountain high school.  She said she would like to place one inside an El Tejon classroom for some time.

Conversation in the room covered concerns of children getting "fumed" by school buses and the possibility that the air at our schools in Lebec could be as "bad" as that in Bakersfield or Los Angeles.  There were audible gasps as "possible" particulates in our air were mentioned and the possibility that Lebec air could be like L.A. or Bakersfield was seen as tragic.

GCM is a project of the Tides Center / Foundation, a sponsor of environmentalist efforts worldwide.  Jessica Hendricks of GCM said they were Social and Environmental Justice activists.  This association classifies them as having a Marxist/Socialist philosophy by definition.