Several environmental groups are seeking the public’s help in gathering data about air quality in the region.

Frank Rocchio, president of Ohio Valley Environmental Advocates, said a $495,301 grant has been awarded by the U.S. Environmental Protection to his group and five others to place two sets of air quality monitors in six counties.

Yuri Gorby, geological microbiologist involved with the project, said the first half of the three-year study will be conducted in Hancock, Brooke and Jefferson counties while the other half will occur in Ohio, Marshall and Belmont counties.

Gorby said it will involve the placement of up to 40 air monitors, each about the size of a coffee mug, outside homes to determine the presence of particulates in the air and conditions affecting their spread, such as the direction and speed of wind.

He and Rocchio noted the monitors should be posted outdoors and require a power source and internet access, so their measurements can be accessed online by those involved with the study.

Gorby said the readings also can be accessed by others, in real time, by anyone using a computer or smart device unless a monitor’s “host” chooses not to disclose its location to the public.

Rocchio said there’s no cost to host the devices.

The monitors’ hosts also are encouraged to make a record of headaches or other physical ailments they experience during the time of the study.

Those interested in hosting one should call (740) 208-2042 or e-mail BreatheOV@gmail.com

Gorby said the small monitors will supplement data and air samples collected by larger monitors called SPods, short for sensory pods, funded through the grant.

He said the SPods differ from air monitors established by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection in that they measure volatile organic compounds.

Often referred to as VOCs, they are man-made chemicals used in manufacturing and in industrial solvents and usually released as gases into the air during industrial processes.

Some also are found in common household products, such as paint, varnishes and cleaning products.

Some are suspected or proven carcinogens, or cancer-causing agents, or have been found to cause damage to the liver, kidney or central nervous system.

Short-term symptoms for some have included eye, nose and throat irritation; headaches, nausea, dizziness and for those with asthma, greater difficulty breathing.

Gorby said air monitors established in this area by the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection don’t monitor VOCs and collect air samples as the SPods will.

He added they were designed to measure pollutants from the steel and coal industry but not newer, emerging industries.

Rocchio said a goal of the study is to establish a baseline to determine the present standard of air quality without such industries.

But he also noted Brooke, Hancock and Jefferson counties have a total of five facilities, most of them at the Half Moon Industrial Park in Weirton, that were issued permits under Title V of the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

Such facilities are classified by the EPA as major sources of air pollution and must comply with standards established by the federal agency.

Gorby said when VOCs reach a certain level in the air, a mechanism inside the SPods is triggered, allowing it to collect an air sample that will be sent for analysis by an independent lab.

Rocchio said four SPods have been placed, with two in Richmond, one in Follansbee and another planned for Mingo Junction.

Those monitors will be maintained by those involved with the study, but a report compiled from their findings will be available to the public, said Gorby.

He said the fact the EPA is funding the study leaves him to believe the agency is interested in putting its findings to use.

Gorby said he was involved in a similar study in Salem Township, Ohio, where residents near a natural gas-fired compressor station complained of a strong odor, headaches and other symptoms during blowdowns.

Blowdowns are occasions in which natural gas is intentionally released from a pipeline into the atmopshere to relieve pressure and allow crews to make repairs.

Gorby said the other study’s findings at least led to the compressor station’s operator notifying nearby residents when the blowdowns were going to occur.

He said he’s not advocating for the elimination of the oil and gas industry but feels human health should be a top priority.