A new app helps Portlanders report pollution odors

(NOVEMBER 22, 2019) Have you ever stopped and asked yourself, "What's that smell?" Well, now there's an app for that. Well, sort of. A new app from Smell My City doesn't actually tell you what the smell is. However, it does use the data to help identify pollution.

The app was developed by Carnegie Mellon University with several community partners, including Portland Clean Air. PCA is an Oregon political committee that works to address industrial pollution in Multnomah and Washington Counties. PCA encourages Portlanders to visit the Smell MyCity website and download the free app to report pollution odors.

"Smell MyCity is a smartphone app designed to crowdsource reports of pollution odors travelling through our cities. All smell reports submitted through the app are visible on our map, and this information is publicly available through our website (smellmycity.org). Local residents, organizations and regulators can use smell report data to help track down potential sources of pollution in their neighborhood," according to the Smell MyCity website.

How does it work? Users open the app and rate the smell on a scale of 1 to 5. Then they add a description. They list any symptoms they are experiencing as well as any other notes they wish to add. The information is submitted anonymously, and all data is available to the public.

"By filing government information requests over the past five years, Portland Clean Air has obtained the data from eight agencies that regulate air pollution in the Portland area. We use statistics software, GIS mapping, Google mapping, computer programming, research, and web design to make this data understandable to everyone. When we began, Portland was ranked as the worst city in America for respiratory distress from air pollution by the EPA. Currently we are ranked by the EPA in the worst 1.3% of counties in the US for diesel particulate, the worst airborne carcinogen according to State of California risk assessments," according to the Smell MyCity website.