GRAND RIVERS, Ky. — University of Louisville researchers held a meeting Thursday in Grand Rivers to discuss their current research projects on local air quality and health hazards. Afterward, community members made suggestions on what the researchers could further look into.
The Biomonitoring and Environmental Assessment for Community Outreach and Neighborhood Safety Study — also known as BEACON — includes research studies such as local air monitoring, wastewater testing, community surveys, volunteer data and bird research. Lark Reynolds of Louisville said that BEACON was started a year ago after she received concerned phone calls from residents.
“We have years and decades of experience in this kind of research, so we decided to take that experience that we had in other areas of the state and bring it to this area — to look and see what we might be able to offer as help,” Reynolds said.
Ted Smith, professor of environmental medicine at Louisville, explained that there are three local air sampling sites — Calvert City Elementary School, Johnson Riley Road and the Liquid Waste Disposal Superfund Sites — where collections are taken weekly by the Kentucky Department of Air Quality…