Residents of the Globeville and Elyria-Swansea communities, community partners and concerned citizens of the entire north metropolitan Denver region hereby request that the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) place a highway oriented air monitor in proximity to the intersection of I-70 and I-25 (the Mousetrap).

New rules within the Clean Air Act require CDPHE to select a near-highway location for a second air monitor in Denver. The Mousetrap should be the site that is selected because it contains the highest concentration of vehicle traffic in Colorado and, therefore, the greatest emissions of mobile source related pollutants. The effects of these emissions are compounded by the facts that, (1) there are densely populated, predominately low income and minority neighborhoods surrounding the Mousetrap, (2) these populations already manifest higher levels and severity of cancer, asthma and other respiratory illnesses that have been linked to air pollution, and (3) in addition to the highways these neighborhoods are in close proximity to large industrial sources of air pollutants. 

Installing a highway oriented air pollution monitor at the Mousetrap will insure that air quality in the affected communities is in conformity with national health standards or, if it is not, will provide the basis for remedial action to protect the residents. Since numerous studies have demonstrated that children are more vulnerable to the negative effects of air pollution, such protection is especially important for children attending schools located close to the Mousetrap. For these reasons we urge CDPHE to act quickly in complying with this request.