Families in Commerce City, Globeville, and Elyria-Swansea are concerned about toxic air pollution from their neighbor, Suncor Energy, a Canadian oil refinery. The company violated multiple regulations, and as a result had to pay $9 million in a March 2020 settlement with Colorado regulators.

Project AIRE (Air Quality Investigation and Research for Equity) is a research program funded by the settlement. Cultivando, the project’s leading organization, invites community members to get involved, with compensation.

Participants will receive a home-based air monitor that would test for 50-plus pollutants that could be linked to Suncor emissions. Colorado universities and health professionals will also provide folks in the area with surveys to gather information about health impacts. Starting next semester, high school students in Adams County will have an internship opportunity in which they will aid data collection, engage in workshops, and learn from guest speakers in environmental justice.