Jennifer Keaton has lived in her childhood home in Columbus' St. Mary's neighborhood on Barrymore Avenue for 53 years.
She still remembers the very warm April 2021 day when the Yenkin-Majestic paint factory exploded just southwest of her home. The explosion killed one factory employee, 44-year-old Wendell Light, and injured 8 others.
"We heard this loud explosion. So loud that there's a light here in my house that does not work. When the explosion happened, it cut that light on. So yeah, it shook the whole neighborhood," Keaton said.
Columbus City Council on Monday voted unanimously to commission an air quality report with California-based Aclima Inc. The city waived the need for a competitive bidding process in order to hire the firm for $189,000.
The company will take air pollution samples from the neighborhood surrounding the Yenkin-Majestic paint factory and samples from a different, yet-to-be-determined, neighborhood elsewhere in the city. The study will compare the samples from the two neighborhoods and their findings.
The company had a history of safety violations, according to the Columbus Dispatch, and faced fines and citations from the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the explosion.
A Columbus Division of Fire investigation found the explosion was caused by equipment malfunction and was accidental, with no evidence of any criminal or intentional act.
The council and its agenda did not mention the explosion directly, opting to call it an "environmental event" that occurred on April 8, 2021.
Columbus City Councilmember Emmanuel Remy said the partnership is a result of the community's advocacy and the residents deserving peace of mind and answers.
"As the Environmental Committee Chair for Columbus City Council, I am dedicated to environmental justice and how these incidents impact the health and wellbeing of our communities," Remy said.
Aclima co-founder and CEO Davida Herzl said the company measures and maps measurements of air quality, greenhouse gases and air toxics block-by-block in the communities they study.
Herzl said this study helps determine where emissions come from and whom they impact. She also said this helps the city direct action, investment and resources where they are needed the most.
Herzl also said the study will first map and diagnose the likely sources of emissions by mapping each block they study, then help and design an emissions reduction plan and lastly track how changes are seen in the measurements.
"We're honored to partner with the city of Columbus and start working with you in your community," Herzl said.
According to Aclima's website, the company recently completed an air quality study in the San Francisco Bay area.
Herzl said the full-time employees Aclima hires to collect air samples will be from Columbus. She said this will help provide paths of opportunity for people who want to work in a green economy.
Keaton said she is glad the city is funding a study on air quality, but she has doubts about it. She wonders if there will be any pollutants left two years later.
Keaton said she feels the air quality in her neighborhood is normal but because of climate change and events like the train derailment and chemical spill in East Palestine that measuring the air in the St. Mary's neighborhood will help answer any questions.
She said the city should also consider looking at the foundations of homes in the neighborhood to see if they were impacted by the explosion. Keaton remembered that one of her neighbors had a crack in their window and the explosion shattered it.
"(The study) would do some good just to be on the safe side, because nothing like this has ever happened in our area before," Keaton said. "It's been a couple of years, but it couldn't hurt."
