Community Update Meeting on Air Quality Study

By: City of Newport News

The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is hosting a community update meeting next week as part of the Tidewater Air Monitoring and Evaluation (TAME) project. The quarterly meeting will include a discussion on health risk assessments and plans for installing air quality monitors and sensors in the Southeast Community of Newport News. Residents are invited to join the DEQ 6:30 – 8 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 18, at the C. Waldo Scott Center, 3100 Wickham Avenue, to get an update on the project. 

The Tidewater Air Monitoring and Evaluation (TAME) project is an air quality study is being conducted to better understand the impacts of coal dust pollution. Through the TAME project, DEQ is deploying a series of air quality monitors and sensors to measure air toxins along with particulate pollution from coal dust. The DEQ received more than half a million dollars from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to investigate air quality related to coal dust in two historic Tidewater communities – the Southeast Community and Lambert’s Point in Norfolk. Data collected will help DEQ, the Virginia Department of Health, and local partners in collaborative efforts to address air quality concerns and determine next steps. 

​DEQ is holding quarterly meetings with community members throughout the study. For more information on TAME, please visit www.DEQ.Virginia.gov/TAME.