Air monitoring sought near Peace Bridge

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) - Alarming questions are swirling about air quality on Buffalo's west side. Now a state lawmaker is calling for testing where many neighbors are becoming sick.

Clean Air Coalition members say the air around the Peace Bridge is toxic and deadly. Assemblyman Sean Ryan and concerned residents want the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to install air monitoring equipment on Buffalo's lower west side.

For years, clean air activists have spoken out about concerns over the Peace Bridge plaza, the nation;s third-largest land port. More than 3,500 diesel trucks pass through it each day, sometimes sitting on the road for hours.

Clean air activists are concerned because diesel exhaust can cause cancer and they say it has been linked to the high rate of respiratory illness and asthma on Buffalo's west side. Activists say there are steps that can be taken to improve the air quality in the neighborhood. Filters could be placed on truck's exhausts, and trees could be strategically planted to absorb harmful chemicals.

Peace Bridge authority officials have also discussed expansion plans to relieve the congestion.

"If the air monitoring is a good idea in Tonawanda, then it's certainly a good idea for the neighborhoods of Buffalo's west side," said Assemblyman Ryan.

The DEC monitored the air around Tonawanda Coke for a year and 2009 discovered five hazardous air pollutants. Since then several government agencies enforced environmental laws and that helped clean up the air.

Clean Air Coalition Executive Director Erin Heaney said, "Air monitoring is important to western New York. We need the DEC, despite the tough financial times, to continue to fund that in western New York. It's critical to the region's public health outcomes."