East Boston mothers sound alarm about air…
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East Boston mothers sound alarm about air pollution from Logan Airport
BOSTON, MA – NOVEMBER 23: Carla Ceruzzi, second from right, talks about air pollution during a meeting in East Boston November 23, 2019 in BOSTON, Massachusetts. (Staff Photo By Chris Christo/MediaNews Group/Boston Herald)
By Lisa Kashinsky |
PUBLISHED: November 24, 2019 at 6:02 p.m. | UPDATED: November 25, 2019 at 12:35 p.m.
Julia Burrell and her two young children were enjoying a day at the park near their East Boston home when their noses started to burn.
Believing it to be a symptom of air pollution from Logan Airport, Burrell told her girls to cover their noses and run home.
Burrell and her husband knew noise would be an issue when they bought a house near the airport a decade ago. But they were unaware of a silent menace — ultrafine particles from jet engine exhaust — that they now say can put their children at risk, just by breathing.
"Air pollution was something we didn't really sign up for," she said.
Burrell is now a member of Mothers Out Front, a nationwide advocacy group focused on climate change whose newly formed East Boston chapter is working to put air filters in schools throughout the neighborhood to help protect youngsters from health issues studies have linked to ultrafine particles, including asthma. And the group wants the Massachusetts Port Authority, overseer of "big polluter" Logan Airport, to help.
"We're disproportionally burdened here in East Boston by this pollution," Burrell said. "We want Logan, we want Massport, to be a good neighbor."
Massport said in a statement, "We acknowledge that operations at Massport facilities impact our neighboring communities. Several area universities are currently doing research to determine aviation-related air pollution. We support this research, have provided data, and urge the FAA to ensure it is completed. As always, we are collaborating with surrounding communities and our elected officials on these kinds of issues."
A 2014 Logan Airport Health Study by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health found children in the "high exposure area" near the airport were three to four more times as likely to experience symptoms of asthma. Adults in that area also run a higher risk of chronic obtrusive pulmonary disease.
Sonja Tengblad, who founded the East Boston Mothers Out Front chapter, said, "We have one of the highest populations in all of Boston of children. This is something we have to tackle even more so because their organs are just so susceptible."
One solution is high-efficiency particulate air filters — like the one Burrell has in her home. She also has worked with Airport Impact Relief Inc., another East Boston environmental group, to put the HEPA air filters in all of the classrooms at her children's school.
Mothers Out Front hopes to have the filters in all East Boston schools and educational facilities by September 2020. The filters cost a few hundred dollars apiece but reduce ultrafine particles by up to 80% for up to five years, Burrell said. Next in line to receive them are the East Boston Social Centers and the YMCA.
The moms also want to get community-owned air pollution sensors that can pick up on elevated levels of ultrafine particles, and are partnering with Air Inc. and an Olin College professor in their efforts.
"HEPA filters are a great starting point for mitigation," Burrell said. "We welcome long-term collaboration with Massport to improve air quality in East Boston and reduce health impacts in our community."
State Rep. Adrian Madaro (D-Boston) is among the local elected officials backing the group's efforts. Madaro said Logan Airport exceeded the growth expectations set out in its last Environmental Status & Planning Report — the newest version of which is up for state approval on Monday — leaving East Boston to shoulder an event greater environmental burden than is currently being mitigated.
"What better way to start than protecting children?" he said.
Madaro's mother, longtime Eastie activist Debra Cave, said air-proofing East Boston is "the next logical step" after Massport spent more than $170 million since 1983 soundproofing 11,000 dwellings and 36 schools in the neighborhood, according to its website.
Alyssa Vangeli said having air filters in the school and day care that her 2- and 5-year-old children attend will give her "the assurance they're breathing clean air during the day."
But the pollution threat has made Vangeli consider moving her family elsewhere.
"It's difficult," she said. "We love our community. We love our neighborhood."
Lisa Kashinsky
Lisa Kashinsky is a multimedia journalist covering politics and more for The Boston Herald. A graduate of Boston University, she previously covered the Merrimack Valley for The Eagle-Tribune and the South Shore for Wicked Local, winning awards for her work at both newspapers.
Follow Lisa Kashinsky @lisakashinsky
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