Kabindra Shakya, PhD
Associate Professor of Environmental Science Villanova University
- Villanova PA
Kabindra Shakya, PhD, conducts research on air pollution, heavy metal pollution in urban soils and environmental justice issues.
Media
Social
Areas of Expertise
Biography
Education
Rice University
PhD
Atmospheric Chemistry
2011
Affiliations
- International Society of Exposure Science : Member, 2014 - Present
- Upper Merion Environmental Advisory Council : Member, 2018 - Present
- CCATE, Norristown : Board Member, 2021 - Present
Select Media Appearances
Some People Rely on Air Quality Forecasts for Their Health, But It’s Hard to Measure
WHYY online
2026-09-14
Here in Philadelphia, the Clean Air Council has also installed 10 sensors that measure volatile organic compounds.
However, despite the record breaking wildfire season this summer, there is also good news for Philadelphia, said Kabindra Shakya, an environmental scientist at Villanova University who studies air pollution. He went through air pollution data in the Philadelphia region from the 1980s to 2021, and concluded that overall pollution levels are going down. He said that shows Philadelphia is doing the right thing, and needs to continue to enforce strict environmental policies to continue in this direction.
Why Heat Waves Often Bring Air Quality Warnings to the Philadelphia Area
WHYY online
2025-07-06
In an urban area like Philadelphia, the air already contains plenty of these precursor pollutants, said Kabindra Shakya, a professor at Villanova University who studies air quality.
“They also need one other ingredient, which is the sunlight,” Shakya said. “When we see the high heat and the sun, then that actually drives more formation of the ozone.”
Air Pollution Inside Philly’s Subway is Much Worse Than on the Streets (Op-Ed)
The Conversation online
2024-10-07
The air quality in the City Hall subway station in downtown Philadelphia is much worse than on the sidewalks directly above the station. That is a key finding of our new study published in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.
New York City Subway Riders are Breathing in Hazardous Air, Study Finds
The Guardian online
2024-08-07
“Whatever pollutants that are brought from the outdoor air get trapped and recirculated,” said Kabindra Shakya, an assistant professor of geography and the environment at Villanova University who was not involved in the study. “Above ground, there is more chance for dispersion, wind speed carrying away and cleaning it, whereas it’s being accumulated [underground] with less ventilation.”
In 2020, Shakya and his team found that the level of air pollution in Philadelphia’s subway systems was roughly four times that of aboveground. They also found that stations with less direct outdoor access had higher concentrations of particulate matter.
EPA sets stricter air emission rules for 3 Philly-area polluters and dozens of others nationwide
WHYY online
2024-04-15
Advocates and experts view the rules as a win for environmental justice. People living near the facilities covered by the rules are disproportionately low-income or people of color, the EPA found. Most of the facilities that will fall under the new rules are in Louisiana or Texas.
“African American, minority communities are impacted disproportionately from this kind of pollution,” said Kabindra Shakya, a professor at Villanova University who studies air and soil pollution. “The risk for them hopefully will be reduced by this new rule.”
New EPA soot standard could bring healthier air to parts of the Philly region
WHYY online
2024-02-13
“I want to emphasize how good this is,” said Kabindra Shakya, a professor at Villanova University who studies air pollution. “This [will help] us — and not only us, but future generations — to breathe better air. … This is one of the great incentives for us to … leave them with a better environment.”
Growing veggies in the city this year? You may want to check your soil
Environmental Health News online
2023-08-14
Kabindra M. Shakya, a professor in the geography and the environment department at Villanova who led the study, became aware that some Philadelphia residents were concerned about soil on a lot they wanted to grow vegetables on. “They were to make a community garden and they had heard of lead being a concern. They were trying to send some soil for analysis,” he told EHN. The gardens tested in Pittsburgh were all in urban areas and generally less than an acre in size. The researchers noted that many of the sites formerly contained smelters or other industrial operations.
Research Grants
Overbrook Breathe Right Community Air Monitoring Project
United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA)
2023 - 2025
Establishment of a community based participatory research (CBPR) program to manage lead exposure risks in a Hispanic neighborhood.
VERITAS Award (Villanova University)
2022 - 2024
AGILE grant to support visiting undergraduate student
Villanova University
Summer 2022 and 2023
VITAL Minigrant
Villanova University
2022
Faculty Research and Development Grant
Villanova University
2019 and 2022
Enhancing the augmented reality sandbox’s software and hardware to support quantitative simulation for STEM education
National Science Foundation (NSF)
2022 - 2025
An immersive urban environmental geochemistry research experience as a pathway to careers in the geosciences
National Science Foundation (NSF)
2021-2024
Goldsmith, S., Shakya, K.M. [Co-PI], Boschi, V., Marco-Bujosa, L.
Cellular effects of subway air particles in human lung cells
National Institutes of Health (NIH)
2021 - 2024
The multi-dimensional structure of urban landscapes and the supply and distribution of ecosystem services
National Science Foundation (NSF)
2018 - 2022
Grant
Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection
2019 - 2023
Summer Grant Program
Villanova University
2020 - 2021
Summer Grant Program
Villanova University
2017 - 2018
Select Academic Articles
Mobile monitoring of air and noise pollution in Philadelphia neighborhoods during summer 201
Environmental Pollution2019
Mobile monitoring is a useful approach for measuring intra-urban variation of air pollution in urban environments. In this study, we used a mobile monitoring approach to study the spatial-temporal variability of air and noise pollution in urban neighborhoods of Philadelphia. During summer 2017, we used portable instruments to measure PM2.5, black carbon (BC), and noise levels along 5 km paths in four residential neighborhoods (Tioga, Mill Creek, Chestnut Hill, and Northern Liberties) and one commercial district (Center City) in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
Commuter exposure to particulate matter at underground subway stations in Philadelphia
Building and Environment2020
We present the first report of exposure to particulate matter by commuters at 12 underground subway stations in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Particle measurements were taken during two springtime periods: March 4 to 9, 2018 and February 1 to April 12, 2019. Particle concentrations were variable across the subway stations and demonstrated high temporal variability (daily and yearly) at the underground subway stations with mean PM2.5 and PM10 concentrations of 54.6 ± 34.1 and 61.6 ± 38.9 μg/m3, respectively in 2018, and 45.1 ± 27.8 and 53.6 ± 32.7 μg/m3, respectively, in 2019.
Spatial and temporal variations in indoor radon concentrations in Pennsylvania, USA from 1988 to 2018
Journal of Environmental Radioactivity2021
Indoor radon poses one of the most significant environmental threats to public health as it is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. Developing a more thorough understanding of the factors that affect radon concentrations is key for developing risk maps, identifying where testing should be a priority, and education about indoor radon exposure. The objectives of this study are to investigate seasonal and annual variation of indoor radon concentrations in Pennsylvania, USA from 1988 to 2018, to explore the hotspot areas for high indoor radon concentrations, and to analyze the association with various factors such as weather conditions, housing types, and floor levels.
Soil contamination in community gardens of Philadelphia and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Environmental Monitoring and Assessment2023
Community gardens have been seen sprouting up in and around urban settings such as Philadelphia and Pittsburgh over the past several decades. Due to the long histories of industrial activities and urbanization, these soils in urban regions may be at a high risk for various contaminants such as metals and metalloids. Using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS), we measured 7 elements (lead (Pb), zinc (Zn), copper (Cu), vanadium (V), cadmium (Cd), nickel (Ni), and arsenic (As)) in soil samples collected from a total of 21 community gardens in Philadelphia City, Philadelphia suburban areas, and Pittsburgh City during September and October 2021.
Monitoring gaseous pollutants using passive sampling in the Philadelphia region
Journal of the Air & Waste Management Association2023
Air pollution can have deleterious impacts on human health and the environment. Historically, air pollution studies have focused more on cities. However, it is also important to consider the impact on large suburban populations living closer to the major cities. In this study, nitrogen oxides (nitrogen dioxide and nitric oxide), sulfur dioxide, ozone, and ammonia concentrations were measured from fifteen sites in the Greater Philadelphia area, Pennsylvania, USA using Ogawa passive samplers from September 2021 to May 2022.
Long term trend of particulate matter in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and its association with introduction of environmental policies
Discover Cities2024
Since the 1970s, air quality has improved at the national level in the United States, coincident with the introduction of the Clean Air Act and other air pollution regulations at a greater frequency. We present a case study from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania—the sixth most populous city in the United States. The main objectives of this study are to analyze long-term trends of particulate matter (PM) from 1986 to 2021 in Philadelphia and to examine their association with the introduction of environmental policies relevant to air pollution at the federal, state, and local levels.
