King County and community partners distribute air purifiers to thousands living near airports

King County and community partners are working to improve indoor air quality for thousands of people living within a 10-mile radius of the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport or a 5-mile radius of the King County International Airport-Boeing Field. They have distributed thousands of air purifiers as part of the project, and hope to continue education and outreach work wherever possible.

Funded by the state Climate Commitment Act (CCA), King County’s Healthy Indoor Air Project aims to increase awareness and education about the importance of indoor air quality, and to propel work to preserve green space in areas near the airports. There, neighborhoods experience a higher level of pollution exposure than in other parts of King County, and residents have called for action to ensure investments in public health.

King County is using a $6 million grant from the Department of Ecology to distribute air purifiers to as many eligible residents as possible, offer education to community members, weatherize homes, and create or maintain green spaces that reduce particulate matter and combat urban heat island effects.

Air purifier distribution event at Radcliffe Senior Living in Kent.

For decades, community members have advocated for action to mitigate the impacts of airports on air quality, the environment, and public health. This project is one of King County’s efforts to work in partnership with community to improve conditions indoors.

“We definitely want to focus on people who are the most vulnerable to pollution: those with respiratory issues, younger children, pregnant women, and seniors over the age of 65,” said Terrance Mayers, Indoor Air Quality Program Manager for Public Health - Seattle & King County ("Public Health”).

King County partnered with twenty community- and faith-based organizations in the area to reach residents in these neighborhoods. King County provided the organizations with educational materials, air purifiers with replacement filters, and a stipend to assist with the costs of distribution to residents.

Staff with the Korean American Chamber of Commerce load an air purifier and filters onto a dolly to distribute to a local community member.

The Korean American Chamber of Commerce in Federal Way served as one of those partners, in conjunction with the Ethnic Chamber of Commerce Coalition. David Myoung-Kyu Oh, vice president of the group, says the Chamber offers a wide variety of services with Korean businesses and community members across the state.

“This type of program is definitely helping our neighbors and people in the community in general,” Myoung-Kyu Oh said. “Some people were skeptical at first [that a high-quality air filter would be free of charge], but when they learned more and found out it was real, they were so excited and there was high demand. I had 50 purifiers to start from the County, but 90 people and counting asked about the program.”

Myoung-Kyu Oh’s experience demonstrates the importance of working with trusted organizations in different communities, both to share health information and to ensure recipients feel comfortable asking questions and accepting resources.

“Too many times we make decisions without the involvement of the people that are most impacted by it,” Mayers said. “Making sure they have a seat at the table [and] they have a voice is important. Now, not only are they working with us, they're advocates for the type of work we're doing."

Tye Whitfield with faith-based nonprofit Kingdom Gathering Outreach says she’s seen high demand for the filters among the senior population she’s served for years. Whitfield regularly visits Radcliffe Senior Living in Kent to offer food, fellowship, and other resources. She agreed to partner with King County after hearing many of the residents ask for help accessing indoor air quality equipment.

Tye Whitfield and other volunteers with Kingdom Gathering outreach unload purifiers and filters to distribute to residents at Radcliffe Place Senior Living in Kent.

"A lot of our seniors have allergies, colds, heart disease, and other [health conditions], and I want to say around 85% of our seniors needed air filters,” Whitfield said.

Public Health also provided “train-the-trainer" opportunities so organizational leaders could learn how to share indoor air quality guidance, including creating a video to share techniques everyone can take to improve indoor air quality at home.

“The video is meant to distill the information we've acquired over the last four years that we've had an air quality program and create a resource that can still be available to our community members,” said Addison Houston, Climate Adaptation Specialist for Public Health.

The Greater Seattle Korean Association held a distribution event at its office.

In addition to filter distribution and community education, grant funding is being used to support weatherization work to improve indoor air quality in single family homes, adult family homes, and family home child cares near the airport. King County is also working with several organizations on projects to preserve or maintain green space in near-airport neighborhoods, such as the restoration of Southgate Park in Tukwila.

“This grant is going to bring in 600 conifers, which is the first tree planting to happen at this park, and urban forests are so important,” said Olena Perry with the City of Tukwila’s Green Tukwila partnership. “We talk a lot in Tukwila about [concerns with heat] because we have a lot of paved surfaces and rooftops, and we need these bands or large sections of forests that are going to create cooling not only for creeks, and the river, but also the land.”

The Park does have deciduous trees, but Perry says the conifers will extend ecosystems year-round, both mitigating noise and air pollution and improving air quality and cooling.

Public Health recommends that everyone take action to improve their indoor air quality:

• Purchase one or more HEPA air filtration units. They can trap and remove up to 99% of dust and even viral particulates from the air.
• Cooking can increase indoor air pollution, especially when overheating oil or burning food. Use an exhaust fan and cook at lower temperatures when possible, or use electricity instead of gas.
• Even cleaning activities such as sweeping or dusting can stir up particles. Use a damp microfiber cloth or mop to clean instead.
• Open windows when possible. Visit the Washington state Department of Ecology’s air quality information site to check if the outdoor air is healthy.

This project aligns with King County’s initiatives to support sustainable and resilient frontline communities as part of its Strategic Climate Action Plan and climate action work. Learn more about Public Health’s work on climate and health and the King County Executive Climate Office (ECO), which secured the grant from Ecology and coordinated the building decarbonization work, here.

Funding Acknowledgement: King County’s Healthy Indoor Air Project is supported with funding from Washington’s Climate Commitment Act. The CCA supports Washington’s climate action efforts by putting cap-and-invest dollars to work reducing climate pollution, creating jobs, and improving public health. Information about the CCA is available at www.climate.wa.gov.