SAUGUS — The Board of Health and Board of Selectmen are looking at two prospective locations for an air quality monitoring station.
The two prospective locations are across from from Lobsterman’s Landing on Ballard Street and at the end of Bristow Street.
The air quality monitor installations, which were unanimously approved by the Board of Health on June 10, will be funded from the state, Deputy Division Director of Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Sean Dunn said during a tour of the prospective locations.
“I feel that the residents deserve the right to know if they are breathing clean air,” Serino said in an email to The Item.
“MassDEP will now proceed to a feasibility phase to determine the location that best meets logistical needs such as having an electrical source present and sufficient access,” according to a press release from Town Hall.
Serino said that of the two prospective locations that were toured, he felt the air quality monitor should be situated at the end of Bristow Street.
The other location, across the street from Lobsterman’s Landing on Ballard Street, Board of Selectman Member Michael Serino said, may not be suitable due to automobile traffic and its proximity to the General Electric facility, which may throw off the air quality readings the monitor would provide.
Town Meeting Member Peter Manoogian said in an email to The Item that the town, especially East Saugus, is “fortunate to have both the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) and the DEP recognize that there is a valid concern about the air quality in our community,” adding that the air quality monitors, which he said is state of the art, is capable of continuous monitoring for particulate matter that exacerbates respiratory issues.
Serino said that Town Manager Scott Crabtree offered the Town’s help with the installation of the monitor, should MassDEP need it.
Dunn called the meeting “a great step forward,” and added he would like to install the monitors as soon as possible.
“The community asked for air quality monitors in Saugus and we are trying to meet that need,” Crabtree said in the press release.
“We look forward to the Commonwealth getting these monitors up-and-running that will provide residents with informed data on air quality conditions in our community. It’s always great for the town to collaborate with state and federal agencies for a common goal,” Crabtree added.
Chairman Debra Panetta said in an email to The Item that she was very pleased to have been in attendance with officials from the town as well as the state in scoping out locations for the new monitors, and that her main priority has always been the “health, safety, and well-being of our Saugus neighborhoods.”
Panetta added she is “thankful” that the town now has an “important tool” to help it monitor air quality.
The air quality monitors, when installed, will be added to the 24 existing MassDEP maintained air quality monitoring stations across the state. One will measure fine particulate matter of 2.5 microns and 10 microns or less. The other will measure carbon emissions, such as those emitted by diesel and wood smoke.
The monitors provide real-time data, which the public will be able to track on MassDEP’s MassAir Online Database, as well as the EPA’s Air Now database.
