The Massport Community Advisory Committee, led by Executive Director Aaron Toffler, will install a state-of-the-art air quality monitor in Revere to measure ultra fine particulate matter (UFPs) emitted by airplanes descending into Logan International Airport in East Boston.
The UFP monitors will also measure emissions by cars and other vehicles, according to Toffler.
Mayor Patrick Keefe joined city officials at a conference outside the Beachmont School where the monitor was on display.
Toffler said the MCAC has not identified the location for the monitor, though it will likely be in the Beachmont neighborhood which is closest to Logan Airport.
“We will be determining the location of the monitor based on the recommendations from our consultants (Air Partners out of the renowned Olin School of Engineering in Needham), and we’re trying to get a better understanding of where the pollution is most impactful,” said Toffler.
Massport funds the MCAC, so in essence paid the approximately $15,000 for the monitor.
“The monitor will be in place in Revere for probably a year so we can get seasonal variations in pollution,” said Toffler. “Air Partners will collect and analyze the data.”
Interestingly, the data will become available daily on the MCAC website, revealing the number of emissions. “It’s real time. It’s a great machine that displays the results right on the computer,” noted Toffler.
Toffler said part of the goal is to compare the data with other surrounding communities “so we know where the impact (of the air pollution) is the greatest.”
“A longer-term goal is to get similar projects around the country so we can advocate with the EPA to regulate ultra fine particulate matter which is currently not regulated by the Clean Air Impact,” said Toffler.
Asked about the health impacts on Revere residents caused by the emissions, Toffler said, “I would not be able to draw a straight line of causation between ultra fine exposure and sickness, but we do know that ultra fines get into your body – they’re smaller than the particles that are currently regulated by the Clean Air Act, and so they get deeper into your body and cross into your bloodstream and cause health problems in that way.”
Following are the statements by officials on the installation of air quality monitors in the city:
Mayor Patrick Keefe
“I’m grateful for the MCAC’s advocacy on getting factually correct data to help direct our energy on how Massport needs to mitigate impacts to our community,” said Keefe. “Revere has always been significantly impacted by Logan Airport. Air quality, noise pollution, and traffic are just a few of the impacts we have long sustained with very little recourse. The air quality monitors are just a start, and I hope the leaders at Massport are listening loud and clear and step up as community partners, certainly much more than they have in the past.”
Ward 1 Councilor Jim Mercurio
“I think the air quality monitors are beneficial to the people of Ward 1, specifically the people of Beachmont, who have been living with these planes for several decades causing disruption with their noise and takeoffs and landings. This state-of-the-art monitor is going to monitor the particles that they leave in their path, and we’re really going to get a true reading of how these planes disperse these particles. I’m excited about the MCAC program in Revere, and I’m happy to be a part of it.”
State Rep. Jeff Turco
“This is my district, and I’m grateful to Mayor Keefe for appointing Hugo Rizzuto to his position and his partners who have said that we need to install one of these monitors in Revere. This monitor is going to highlight the damage that’s being done, but it also gives us control of the data. This gives us the opportunity to have independent people in charge of collecting and analyzing the data.”