LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- In an effort to clean up the air in Louisville and Jefferson County, city officials have invested $1.6 million to help people breathe easier.
That includes people like Sheryl Connelly, who suffers from environmental asthma, says she, "Started getting a cough that wouldn't go away like a cold that wouldn't resolve itself...Went to the doctor and he said, 'Welcome to the Ohio Valley, you're now an asthmatic.'"
She's made miserable in Kentuckiana by the thickness that comes with record-breaking heat: "If it's an Ozone Action Day, if I go outside in the heat I will get very very tired afterwards. I have to take like a three hour nap, like my body has to reset itself."
Officials say the investment will help cut air pollution throughout the city. New filters have been installed on the lawn mowers used to cut the grass in Shawnee Park that will cut down on pollution levels. This new filter will make the emissions from equipment up to 90 percent cleaner than it was prior to the installation.
It's all part of the mayor's diesel emission reduction program. The $1.6 million will be used to purchase cleaner burning equipment as well as filters to install on older equipment to reduce the number of pollutants. This will help reduce the emissions can lead to ozone alerts and reduce air quality.
The new filters will be installed not only on lawn mowers, but on street sweeper, tractors, or flood control pumps used by MSD and Metro Government. Thomas Nord of the Air Pollution Control District says, "Everyone in Louisville who breathes will see the benefit of this...What these filters will do is filter out the particulate matter or soot."
Louisville was recently ranked as the ninth dirtiest city for air quality in the country by the American Lung Association, and city officials want to improve that ranking.
"I can't say that it's going to make your life better tomorrow," said Thomas Nord with the Air Pollution District. "But if we do enough of this stuff, every little bit helps."
We're told that 90 pieces of equipment will be retrofitted immediately.
But Connelly says, "That's great, but what are they going to do about what's happening right now? The Ohio Valley is in a bowl, so all the air surrounding us just sits there. But when you're looking at health longterm there's no way I can retire here."
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