Grade Level at Time of Presentation
Junior
Major
Mathematics
Institution
Western Kentucky University
KY House District #
1
KY Senate District #
09
Faculty Advisor/ Mentor
Mrs. Jacqueline Basham, MPH; Mr. Ritchie Taylor, PhD
Department
Department of Public Health
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic is the first of the 21st century. Nearly 100 years ago, the Spanish Flu killed nearly 50 million people worldwide, including an estimated 675,000 people in the US.12 COVID-19 has proved a deadly disease as well, with nearly 28.1 million cases and 496,000 deaths in the US alone as of February 20th, 2021.4 Only a few studies have been conducted regarding air quality response before and after the start of the pandemic. The study found that the NO2 levels decreased and the PM levels also decreased from before to after the beginning of the pandemic. They adopted a weather benchmark modeling system to predict what the expected air pollution levels for the 2020 lockdown should have been while also building separate linear regression models for each country and pollutant type. (Venter, 2020) On a smaller level, another study looked at the effects of air quality in the cities of Barcelona and Madrid (Spain). This study primarily focused on the time period after the pandemic occurred and assessed the NO2 data for each hour. The study observed a decrease in air pollutant levels, but the results were not significant between the years they studied. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a difference in the emission rates of the 6 criteria pollutants in Kentucky along with overall air quality in the 5-month period of January 1st - June 1st of 2016-2020. This will be used to evaluate the environmental impact of COVID-19 and contrast before and after the start of the pandemic.
Included in
Effects of COVID-19 on Kentucky Air Pollutant Levels
The COVID-19 pandemic is the first of the 21st century. Nearly 100 years ago, the Spanish Flu killed nearly 50 million people worldwide, including an estimated 675,000 people in the US.12 COVID-19 has proved a deadly disease as well, with nearly 28.1 million cases and 496,000 deaths in the US alone as of February 20th, 2021.4 Only a few studies have been conducted regarding air quality response before and after the start of the pandemic. The study found that the NO2 levels decreased and the PM levels also decreased from before to after the beginning of the pandemic. They adopted a weather benchmark modeling system to predict what the expected air pollution levels for the 2020 lockdown should have been while also building separate linear regression models for each country and pollutant type. (Venter, 2020) On a smaller level, another study looked at the effects of air quality in the cities of Barcelona and Madrid (Spain). This study primarily focused on the time period after the pandemic occurred and assessed the NO2 data for each hour. The study observed a decrease in air pollutant levels, but the results were not significant between the years they studied. The purpose of this study is to determine whether there is a difference in the emission rates of the 6 criteria pollutants in Kentucky along with overall air quality in the 5-month period of January 1st - June 1st of 2016-2020. This will be used to evaluate the environmental impact of COVID-19 and contrast before and after the start of the pandemic.