Issue Brief

Air Pollution in Elyria Swansea
Alma Carrillo
POLS 364: Air, Climate, and Energy Policy Analysis
September 20, 2020
Dear Governor of Colorado,
The Elyria Swansea neighborhood that occupies the 80216 zip code is in the heart of Denver. It
has the Denver Coliseum, the National Western Complex, interchange between I-25 and I-70, the
Purina dog food factory, Suncor Energy oil and gas refinery, and is now home to the Central 70
project which is projected to be in construction until 2022. Swansea has a population of about
6,687 with 80% being Latino and about 20% of the families are reported to be impoverished.1
The neighborhood is not only busy and under a lot of renovation it is also said to be the one of
the most polluted and environmentally hazardous zip codes in the United States.2 These residents
are burdened with the constant pollution that is being output by all of the construction and
factories that are around. This issue has started to affect the health of many residents.
Residents living in the Elyria Swansea area are reported to have higher rates of lung and heart
disease than other areas in the state. “In Elyria-Swansea, the asthma rate has jumped 41 percent
since 2006-10 to 1,113.12 per 100,000 people in the 2013-17 time span. Globeville’s asthma rate
has increased by 25 percent to 1,238.47 per 100,000 people in that same period, according to
data from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.3 These effects can be
1 “Elyria Swansea | Community Facts.” n.d. Denvermetrodata.Org. Web Link.
2 “Denver’s Got the Most Polluted Zip Code in the Country? Not so Fast.” 2018. Denverite. February 27, 2018.
Web Link.
3 Sangosti, Rj. 2019. Review of The Long Shadow: Families in Elyria-Swansea Struggle with Asthma amid
Historic I-70 Construction. The Denver Post. June 30, 2019. Web Link.
1
especially hazardous for children and those over the age of 65 who account for about 37% of the
residents. Asthma is not the only health concern, there have also been studies to show that
residents in these neighborhoods have higher rates of obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular
disease than other Denver areas. Many children have become too sick to even go to school. Some
of their asthma attacks have become so severe that they need to get special treatment at National
Jewish Hospital. 4
These concerns have been heightened due to the current pandemic. Studies have shown that
areas that have higher air pollution rates also have more COVID hospitalizations. “For example,
the Elyria Swansea neighborhood had a rate of 2.9 hospitalizations per 1,000 people, but the
Country Club neighborhood only had 0.3 hospitalizations per 1,000 people.”5 The specific air
pollution that is in question is particulate matter. “We have determined there is a large overlap
between causes of deaths of COVID-19 patients and the diseases that are affected by long-term
exposure to fine particulate matter (PM 2.5),” this matter is so small that it can go into your lungs
and affect the respiratory system.6
The state has been having a dangerous amount of air pollution for years, even before the Central
70 project began.
“State air quality monitoring data shows the air quality monitors near the
Globeville, Elyria Swansea neighborhoods often measured higher air pollution
levels than other areas of the city over the last five years, frequently exceeding
safe limits set by the Environmental Protection Agency, when other monitors in
the city didn’t.”7
In 2016 there was an air quality monitor placed in the intersection where I-25 and I-70 interact.
Since 2019, there have been air quality monitors placed in 9 different Denver schools. They were
4Sangosti, Rj. 2019.

5 Weis, Kati. 2020. Review of Denver Hispanic Neighborhoods With Higher COVID-19 Hospitalization Rates Also
Have Higher Air Pollution Levels Than White Neighborhoods. CBS Denver. August 6, 2020. Web Link.
6 Weis, Kati. 2020.
7 Weis, Kati. 2020.
1
2
chosen due to their high asthma rates and the amount of students who qualified for free or
reduced lunches.8 That is one of the proactive measures that Colorado has taken and the
community has many more recommendations that they would like to get taken into effect.
One of the proposed solutions has been to temporarily pause the construction on the Central 70
project to reduce the amount of particulate matter in the air until the pandemic becomes more
controlled. Other proposed solutions include funding to increase the green infrastructure and
provide more tree cover, and changing truck routes to deflect truck routes from being adjacent to
schools.9 Semi trucks often use the residential roads to reach the I-70 highway, this has not only
caused more vehicle pollutants in the air but these trucks often cause damage to poles and street
lights due to the limited space. This issue is one that Denver Councilwoman Deborah Ortega is
trying to address, specifically where these trucks can and cannot drive through.10
During these times where respiratory health is of heightened importance the community is very
concerned about air quality in their neighborhood. While there have been steps to help the
community there are still many more solutions that can be put in place to better the air pollution
in the Elyria Swansea area.
8 Fendt, Lindsay. 2019. Review of Monitors Now Measure Air Quality at Nine Denver Schools to Tackle Asthma
Rates and Track Pollution. Denverite. October 17, 2019. Web Link.
9 Denver Department of Environmental Health. September 2014. How Neighborhood Planning Affects Health in
Globeville and Elyria Swansea. Denver, CO. Web Link.
10 Chavez, Jordan. 2018. Review of Fed-up Dad Wants Semi-Trucks to Stop Driving through His Neighborhood.
9News. KUSA. January 9, 2018. Web Link.

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Air Pollution in Elyria Swansea

Dear Governor of Colorado,

4Sangosti, Rj. 2019.

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