MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee state Rep. Justin Pearson is pushing back against a new air quality report released by the City of Memphis Tuesday, June 24, calling the study misleading and “disrespectful” to residents in historically overburdened communities like Boxtown.
According to the City of Memphis, an independent third party conducted the air quality report and measured levels at several sites in Downtown Memphis, Boxtown and Whitehaven. Collectors gathered the data on June 13 and 16. According to city officials, pollutant levels at those locations were either too low to detect or well below federal safety thresholds, with the exception of one elevated reading near City Hall.
Pearson said that the study fails to reflect what residents are actually experiencing…