DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE
WHERE/WHEN APPLICABLE
RESPONSES

DESCRIPTION OF ISSUE:
Air pollution in the Heart of the City comes from sources as diverse as industrial activities, power plants, cars, buses, trucks, and dry cleaners. Cars, trucks, and buses emit about half the air pollution in Boston. The dirtiest 10% of these vehicles is responsible for about half the pollution from all vehicles. Other sources of air pollution include off-road diesel engines, power plants and other industrial facilities, and commercial and residential sources. These sources contribute to ground-level ozone, fine particulate matter, and air toxics (Airbeat, an Environmental Monitoring for Public Access and Community Tracking (EMPACT) project sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency).

Air pollution can threaten human and environmental health and is particularly problematic during hot, dry weather when there is little air circulation.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) monitors five major air pollutants nationwide: carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, particulates, and sulfur dioxide. Over the course of the 1990s, levels of these air pollutants in Metropolitan Boston as a whole either declined or stayed stable (EPA National Air Quality and Emissions Trends Report, 1999). In recent years, however, ozone levels in the Boston area have exceeded levels the EPA considers acceptable (EPA Air Trends, 2000).

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WHERE/ WHEN APPLICABLE:
Power plants:
Several small power plants are located in the Heart of the City. One State-owned power plant is located within Franklin Park at Shattuck Hospital. In 2002, the State improved the efficiency and cleanliness of the power plant, which is visible from Morton Street.

Diesel buses:
In the Heart of the City, MBTA buses serve several major transportation corridors. These include Blue Hill Avenue and Warren Street, Washington Street, Hyde Park Avenue, and Centre/ South Street. The vast majority of the MBTA bus fleet uses diesel fuel and in 2003 the fleet is approximately 12.6 years old (Terrance Regan, pers. com. 2003). Regular diesel fuels produce about 10% to 15% more particulate matter than compressed natural gas (CNG) vehicles and 30% more than automobiles using gasoline. In 2001, the entire fleet of MBTA buses emitted 89 tons of particulate matter into the atmosphere. Both carbon particulate matter and nitrogen oxides develop into smog and can trigger asthma attacks.

When buses idle for long periods of time, this problem is exacerbated. Although the MBTA has a policy that requires drivers to limit the idling of diesel buses to less than five minutes, in February of 2002, EPA field agents found that drivers were allowing diesel buses to idle for as long as two and a half hours in Roxbury (Mac Daniel, "T Cited for idling diesel buses quality of air is EPA concern," The Boston Globe, July 9, 2002).

Indoor air quality:
Indoor air quality, particularly in schools and homes with children, is a growing community concern because youth are especially vulnerable to the health problems that can result from poor air quality. Schools designed to be energy-efficient can have poor air ventilation. Older schools may have problems with mold that can lead to respiratory problems among children.

Asthma:
The quality of indoor and outdoor air directly relates to the incidence of asthma in the Heart of the City. Asthma hospitalization rates for black and Latino children were substantially higher than for white and Asian children in the Heart of the City in 2001. This is a patten that has existed since 1997 (Boston Public Health Commission, "The Health of Boston 2003"). Asthma is also the leading cause of childhood emergency hospitalization in Boston and the number one cause of school illness and absenteeism in the Boston public school system. Boston children under the age of five experienced 273 hospitalizations for asthma in 2001 (Boston Public Health Commission, "The Health of Boston 2003").

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RESPONSES:
Roxbury's Dudley Square is a hub for bus storage and has one of the highest asthma rates in the State of Massachusetts. The Harvard School of Public Health, community organizations, and the Boston Redevelopment Authority (BRA) worked together on a Dudley Square Transportation and Air Quality Study, and publish "real time" air quality information on their website (http:/airbeat.org).

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