CLEAR Community Engagement Core finds high VOC levels in one-third of home visit samples
CLEAR's Community Engagement Core (CEC) is engaging Detroit residents to measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and educate them on protecting themselves against exposure to the chemicals.
The CEC has been going out into the field to conduct site visits at the homes of residents who agree to participate. The team generally tests Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) in 5 rooms, takes observations of the home, and leaves 2 passive samplers in two rooms of the home. The passive samplers are left in the home for one week, and then picked up to be turned over to Wayne State University's Lumigen Lab for analysis. This spring, the CEC began including team members from Project 1 and Project 2 to take vegetation samples and soil samples from the homes visited. The team has visited 149 homes; after completing preliminary analysis on 62 homes, the CEC found levels of VOCs exceeding state or federal levels at approximately a third of them.
Currently, the CEC is preparing a pilot test of residents’ homes near an area of possible VOC contamination. The team identified 20+ households as candidates and have tested 6 of the homes.
Our first focus group with participants was on June 4. The purpose of the focus group was to gain insight on the way we report results back to participants. We plan to have our next focus group in October. Moreover, we partnered with local organizations to host seven forums across Detroit, with more planned soon.
CEC lead Dr. Lyke Thompson and his helpers attended the annual Peacenic event at Detroit's O’Hair Park on Saturday June 29th. While at the event, they spoke to residents about the impacts of VOCs, and gave them the opportunity to sign up for a home visit or to participate in a forum. The team engaged a total of 40 people at this event, and expect to attend other events across Detroit to engage more residents.
In addition to forums, CLEAR staff are meeting people at community events to explain to them about VOCs and CLEAR, to invite to forums and to invite to become participants by having their homes tested. We’ve engaged over 50 people through the first few events. More to come.