But Pleasantville is one community in Houston that has never had a regulatory monitor. These monitors create the kind of data that can be used by state, regional and federal agencies to uphold health-based standards for pollution — and hold polluters accountable.

This historically Black community, established when Houston was still officially segregated, has seen industry and infrastructure creep ever closer over the years. Warehouses storing unknown chemicals. Heavy-duty trucks 24 hours a day. Hundreds of thousands of cars and trucks on I-10 and Loop 610. Pleasantville residents and others near the Ship Channel should be able to live free of the pollution that creates a nearly 20-year discrepancy in life expectancy from one side of the city to the other. Better information is the first step.

Two years ago, more than 300 people added their name in support of Pleasantville’s first regulatory monitor, which should be installed this year. Now, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality is considering adding more technology to capture even more data about harmful air pollution. We need you to urge TCEQ to take this step and enhance air monitoring in the area.

The additional technology — a canister that can measure volatile organic compounds (VOCs) — would provide residents and regulators with the information they need to take action.

The monitor to be installed measures soot, or PM2.5. One of the most widespread and deadliest air pollutants, soot is linked to chronic health issues like asthma, bronchitis and heart disease. But residents in the area face additional exposure to VOCs. These include cancer-causing chemicals like benzene and 1,3-butadiene that facilities pollute when refining oil and making plastics.

The lack of information about air quality has been a longtime issue, as Pleasantville resident Cleophus Sharp remembers: "During the summer of the 1960s, as children during this timeframe, many residents will recall going outside to play and upon seeing thousands of birds lying dead on the ground, turned around and went back inside and did not venture out the entire day. We did not know what caused the birds to die, but we did know that whatever it was, it was outside and in the air!"

We can’t take action unless we know what we’re acting against.