CLEVELAND — The American Lung Association’s 2023 air quality report card gave failing grades to four counties in Ohio, including Cuyahoga and Hamilton, because of the presence of the contaminant ozone.

What You Need To Know

  • City leaders in Cleveland are now working to get residents involved in identifying specific areas in the city with poor air quality so they can determine the best places to install sensors

  • To apply to become a clean air adviser, you must be 18 years or older, live in the city of Cleveland and comfortable talking to your neighbors

  • Leaders with Cleveland’s Department of Public Health said they want to learn about problem areas, particularly in neighborhoods with a history of disinvestment, that experience health disparities

According to the EPA, ozone can worsen symptoms of any type of respiratory or cardiovascular condition, especially asthma.  

City leaders in Cleveland are now working to get residents involved in identifying specific areas in the city with poor air quality, so they can determine the best places to install sensors that will give them better data.

Erica Burnett, a lifelong Cleveland resident, now works at the Famicos Foundation, a community development corporation on the east side.

“Coming into this role, I did not understand how the, the range of work that it was,” she said.

Burnett said she hears from community members about all sorts of concerns, including some about poor air quality caused by emissions from cars on a highly traveled road in the neighborhood.

“And they were concerned about cluster of cancer that was happening in that particular part of the community,” Burnett said.

Leaders with Cleveland’s Department of Public Health, like Christina Yoka, said they want to learn about those problem areas, particularly in neighborhoods with a history of disinvestment that experience health disparities like the one Burnett serves. 

They are hoping the Clean in CLE program will help to do just that.

“Once we understand what’s going on at the neighborhood level for air quality, we can look at the types of services and programs that we offer, and adjust our services accordingly, and see if there’s a better way that we can be servicing the community,” Yoka said.

She said the program was created after they were awarded a federal grant for communities facing environmental injustice in June.

The program is now seeking six local “Clean Air Advisers” to speak with their neighbors about what they experience daily and how air quality affects the community.

Those advisers will be compensated for their work with a $1200 stipend. 

“They’re going to be a major part of determining the placement of the air sensors,” Yoka said. “We would like them to reach out to their neighbors and their community to inform the rest of the community about this project. And just help us work with community members, and also bring community members to us. So that we are working with community and in concert with them throughout this process.”

Burnett said she’s eager to see what data comes out of the program and hopes there’s follow through once they know more. 

“I don’t want this work to just be a one and done,” Burnett said. “That it is a continuous effort to make sure the air quality is clean in our neighborhoods.”

To apply to become a clean air adviser, you don’t need to be an air quality expert. 

Training will be provided.

You must be 18 years or older, live in the city of Cleveland and comfortable talking to your neighbors.

Applications will be open until through the beginning of January.