CLEANAIR study to share air quality findings from 3-year monitoring effort in Malden, Everett, East Boston and Charlestown

On Saturday, March 21, from 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m., the Mystic River Watershed Association (MyRWA) and its research partners will host a Zoom webinar to share insights from Community-Led Improvement of Air Quality in the Lower Mystic (CLEANAIR), a three-year study funded by the Environmental Protection Agency and led by MyRWA. Insights will be shared about long-term (two-year) and short-term (two to six week) studies of traffic-related air pollution in Charlestown, East Boston, Everett and Malden. Notable local findings include:

• In Malden long-term monitoring at 350 Main St. detected a strong local source of pollutants from the southwest, potentially due to the New England Coffee Roaster facility.
• During regular school weeks in Everett, school sites saw as high as four-fold ultrafine particle (UFP) concentrations compared to the long-term central monitoring location at Everett City Hall, showing that these Everett schools have an elevated exposure to traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) compared to other parts of the city.
• In Charlestown concentrations were higher in summer than in other seasons, unlike other communities, and concentrations during the hours of 3 p.m.-7 p.m. were just as high and occasionally higher on weekends than on weekdays.
• In East Boston measurements taken before and after the Sumner Tunnel closure showed no significant change in air pollutants on rerouted streets, suggesting that traffic through the tunnel is not the sole source of TRAP on streets near its entrance.

MyRWA looks forward to discussing these findings and more at the Zoom webinar on March 21. MyRWA welcomes questions and would be happy to brief you separately in advance of the event as well if desired. The full report is available at https://mysticriver.org/cleanair

WHAT: CLEANAIR Webinar.

WHO: MyRWA and its CLEANAIR partners: Tufts University; Cambridge Health Alliance; Cities of Malden, Everett and Boston; Everett Community Growers; and independent community engagement researcher consultants.

WHEN: Saturday, March 21, 10:30 a.m.-12:00 p.m.

WHERE: Virtual Zoom Webinar: https://umich.zoom.us/meeting/register/CJkkxW1GSM62YFf4c0OtHA.