Megan Hall: Welcome to Possibly, where we take on huge problems like the future of our planet and break them down into small questions with unexpected answers. I’m Megan Hall.
Take a deep breath…. In through your nose. What do you smell? A group of local researchers think, it’s a question worth asking. And the answer might tell us a lot about the quality of our air.
Isha Thakkar and Leo Nachamie from our Possibly Team have more on this project.
Isha Thakkar: Hi, Megan!
Leo Nachamie: Hello!
Megan Hall: So can smelling our air help us improve our air quality?
Isha Thakkar: Great question! To answer this, we talked to Emma Blankstein.
Emma Blankstein: I am a student researcher with the Breathe Providence project.
Megan Hall: What is Breathe Providence?
Leo Nachamie: Breathe Providence is a research team at Brown University that tracks air quality in Providence neighborhoods.
Megan Hall: Why do they need to track this information?
Isha Thakkar: Rhode Island has one of the highest asthma rates in the country, so understanding where, and when people are exposed to polluted air, could play a role in improving their health.
Leo Nachamie: Breathe Providence uses a lot of tools to track air quality. They have a network of powerful sensors all over the city.
Isha Thakkar: But they’re also encouraging everyone to use the sensors we carry around already – our noses.
Leo Nachamie: Anyone can participate when they download the “Smell my City” app.
Isha Thakkar: The app, which was originally created by researchers at Carnegie Mellon, is part of a national project to crowdsource pollution odors across the country.
Leo Nachamie: It’s an easy way for community members to report and describe different smells.
Megan Hall: How does it work?
Isha Thakkar: When people report a smell, they rank the intensity of the odor from 1 to 5. They can also list any health symptoms they are experiencing that may be a result of the smell, from trouble breathing to headaches or stomachaches. Then, the app records the location of the smell.
Leo Nachamie: As more and more people started using the smell my city app in Providence, researchers started noticing some common patterns.
Megan Hall: Like what?
Isha Thakkar: Well, people living near the port of Providence, often report smells of sulfur, asphalt, or tar.
Leo Nachamie: That makes sense because the neighborhood around the port has some of the worst air quality in the state.
Megan Hall: Where is this air pollution coming from?
Isha Thakkar: Well, there’s a lot of smelly industries near the port, including an asphalt plant, oil and gas companies, and a scrap metal distributor.
Megan Hall: Oh yeah-- I always notice that giant pile of metal every time I drive near the water!
But, it seems pretty obvious that people would notice these smells if they live near these companies. What’s the point of collecting their experiences?
Isha Thakkar: Well, certain toxins have very distinct smells, and our noses are powerful tools.
Leo Nachamie: The smells we notice can give us clues about where those toxins come from, in a way a traditional air monitor couldn’t.
Isha Thakkar: It’s a part of Breathe Providence’s efforts to paint a fuller picture of what’s happening to Providence’s air. And validate what neighborhood members already know.
Emma Blankstein: There are so many remarkable people who know what to do about these things, and they know what they’re smelling, they know what they’re experiencing and they know what the problem is and how to fix it. It is a matter of building the power and the scientific evidence in order to actually make sure that that knowledge can translate to change, whether it’s changes that the community are making for themselves, or whether it’s changes that are made in collaboration with city and state government.
Isha Thakkar: So next time you’re outside, notice what you’re smelling, it could tell you more about what’s in the air than you might think.
Megan Hall: Great! Thanks, Isha and Leo!
And if you’d like to report the things you’re smelling, you can find Smell My City on your phone’s app store.
That’s it for today. You can find more information, or ask a question about the way your choices affect our planet, at ask possibly dot org. You can also subscribe to Possibly wherever you get your podcasts or follow us on social media at “ask possibly”
Possibly is a co-production of Brown University’s Institute for Environment and Society, Ocean State Media, and WBRU.
