Warning from experts: Joliet region faces major air pollution issues

Will County — Climate change and environmental stressors often seem vague scientific concepts, not felt on a daily basis for Will County residents.

But the Chicago-Joliet corridor is a “huge area for air pollution,” experts said at a recent climate change and environmental justice program held at Lewis University.

The Peace and Justice Studies program at Lewis University hosted its annual Peace Teach-In on Oct. 18 and 19 in Romeoville. Over the course of two days the university hosted 10 seminars about the impacts of climate change and pollution on the health and well-being of communities around the country, including in Will County and the Chicago area.

In the event’s opening session, Climate Vulnerability and Air Quality, Dr. Joe Kozminski, chairman of the Lewis Physics department, spoke with Aurora Barrone of the Houston Environmental Defense Fund about the damage done by traffic congestion and poor air quality to communities, including the impact on children’s health.

While Barrone noted that areas of South and Southwest U.S. are far more vulnerable to extreme weather as a result of climate change, she said the Chicago-Joliet corridor as a major supply-chain route impacts the regional climate and environment.

“I-80, I-55, I-57, and I-355 all pass through this area,” Kozminski said. “We have the shipping canal, six of the major railroads pass through the area, and the largest inland port in North America is in the Joliet area. Three and half percent of the country’s GDP passes through Will County yearly, in addition to the heavy industry, refineries and power plants in the area.”

“We’re fortunate not to have to worry about the extreme weather that parts of the south and west have to deal with, but during June through August, the air quality at our four monitoring sites was at or right under the threshold for ‘dangerous’ much of the time.”

—  Dr. Joe Kozminski, chair of the Lewis Physics department

Kozminski said these factors have put air quality at risk in the Joliet area, with conditions set to potentially worsen as warehouses and their related truck traffic continue to expand in the region.

“We’re fortunate not to have to worry about the extreme weather that parts of the South and West have to deal with, but during June through August, the air quality at our four monitoring sites was at or right under the threshold for ‘dangerous’ much of the time,” he said.

Health risks

Kozminski’s area of study focuses on climate vulnerability inputs, including air quality, and he maintains observation points in parts of Will County to monitor and track air quality through different conditions.

“We haven’t seen a huge change over the last few years, but we don’t have a lot of monitors out yet,” Kozminski said. “We need to expand our monitoring system within the county to fully understand and get a bigger picture of the local air quality.”

Even with limited monitors, Kozminski said his study showed that air quality in areas with heavy traffic was worse during rush hour periods, showing a strong link between the increased number of trucks – sometimes reportedly 1,000 in a two-hour window – and other vehicles on the road and the breathability of the air.

Specific communities that Kozminski and Barrone said could be at risk for reduced air quality at the current rates of development include Joliet, Crest Hill and Rockdale.

With a population of 696,757 as of July 2022, Will County is the fourth-most populous county in Illinois, behind Cook, DuPage and Lake, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. Will County alone has almost 118,000 more people than the state of Wyoming.

The American Lung Association has reported that living in areas with low air quality can be especially detrimental to the health of children and teens who can experience reduced lung capacity and are more likely to develop conditions including asthma and COPD and may become prone to other respiratory infections and irritation.

In addition to the health issues created by poor air quality, the increased pollution can have a hyper-local impact on the climate, in addition to the larger impact of emissions on the atmosphere.

“One of the biggest concerns is reduction of green space with warehouse development and trucking along the canal corridor,” Kozminski said. “Along with increased emissions along supply chain routes through the county, warehouses add to heat reflection from large rooftops and parking lots which can change the microclimates within neighborhoods.”

Call to action

When asked by students in the seminar what they can do to try and combat the conditions worsening in their communities, Barrone suggested one of the best solutions is to stay informed and involved politically.

“Be informed, and go vote,” she said. “Make sure you’re voting for candidates who share your views on environmental issues, and not just at the federal and state level. A lot of times things get magnified to the national level, but don’t overlook things at the close, local level. Sometimes you can have a much bigger impact there.”

Kozminski also noted that there are a number of environmental initiatives students can get involved with on campus.

“We have a sustainability club, we do paper shredding and electronic recycling, and coming up the Society of Physics Students partners with Will County Green to do pumpkin composting every year,” Kozminski said. “The students build catapults and collect old pumpkins to launch into a compost bins.”

Additionally, as a school, Lewis has committed to green initiatives by installing their own solar field to generate clean power and has been designated as an arboretum campus for its extensive green space.

“This is really a pressing issue right now,” said Kozminski. “We’re getting to a point of reaching some tipping points in the next 10 to 15 years if things don’t change, so we need to get people active thinking about this ASAP.”

Other topics addressed during the discussion series included environmental justice in communities of color, Catholic insights on climate change, and how writers and artists can use their skills to highlight environmentalist issues and stories.

The series concluded with the Sixth Annual Gros Memorial Event, which featured a performance of Native American Flute music and a speech by environmentalist and author Leah Thomas, writer of “The Intersectional Environmentalist: How to Dismantle Systems of Oppression to Protect People + Planet.”