Marcus Hook Area Neighbors for Public Health works on environmental issues important to residents in the Marcus Hook Area, including Marcus Hook, Trainer, Upper and Lower Chichester, Aston, and Chester.
Air Pollution and Public Health
MHANPH has been working in partnership with Clean Air Council on a three-year EPA funded program to install 30 PurpleAir monitors and 5 high quality VOC sensors throughout southern Delaware County. MHANPH also helps educate residents about how to report air pollution concerns and how to participate in public comments and hearings on air quality permits.
Community and Environmental Health Study
MHANPH participated in a two-year study with Johns Hopkins University and Clean Air Council. The Assessing Strengths, Stressors and Environmental justice in SoutheaStern (ASSESS) Pennsylvania Communities Study aimed to collect data to improve our understanding of community strengths, stressors, and needs and describe the cumulative health impacts of both the chemical (e.g., exposure to air pollutants) and nonchemical (e.g., economic hardship) stressors.
Cumulative Impacts
MHANPH is working to support a Cumulative Impacts bill to protect environmental justice communities in Pennsylvania. Cumulative impacts laws consider the combined impacts of exposures that can accumulate over time when new permits for industrial facilities are being issued or proposed. If passed into law, HB109 and SB1048 would secure greater protection for EJ communities that are disproportionately exposed to pollution.
Climate Resilience
MHANPH participated in a three-year Climate Resilient Communities Project to better understand and address climate change threats to communities near polluting industrial sites along the Delaware River in Delaware County. The project produced a report on climate resilience, as well as two park revitilization projects in Chester and Trainer.
Watershed Protections
MHANPH supports watershed protections by educating residents about how to report water pollution issues, how to better manage stormwater runoff, and how to participate in public commenting on water related permits. MHANPH also supports the work of the Naamans Marcus Hook Stoney Creek (NMS) Watershed Alliance to steward our local creeks and watershed area.