Healey-Driscoll Administration Investing $775,000 in Air Quality Sensors in Environmental Justice Communities Across Massachusetts  

BOSTON — To celebrate Earth Week, the Healey-Driscoll Administration will dedicate $775,000 to install new air quality sensors across the state and put advanced monitoring technology into environmental justice communities to track local air quality and protect public health. The funding was announced by Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) Commissioner Bonnie Heiple during a tour of a MassDEP air monitoring station in Kenmore Square in Boston – one of 24 air monitoring stations currently located across the state.  

“The Healey-Driscoll Administration is committed to addressing toxic air emissions impacting residents across Massachusetts – especially environmental justice communities that have historically carried this burden of our industrial legacy,” said Energy and Environmental Affairs Secretary Rebecca Tepper. “We look forward to working with communities like Boston, environmental justice advocates, and residents to collect data and develop measurable progress to ensure all families are breathing clean, healthy air.”   

“Clean air is a right to be enjoyed by all residents of Massachusetts, but too often, polluting industries were located in low-income communities and urban areas, where residents experience serious health problems like asthma and respiratory disease,” said EEA Undersecretary of Environmental Justice & Equity Maria Belen Power. “Our Administration is prioritizing environmental justice communities as we empower residents, take action to reduce air pollutants, and measure the progress we’ve made with programs like these.”  

“MassDEP operates a comprehensive air monitoring network across Massachusetts that puts air quality data in people’s hands in near real-time, protecting public health and helping us target our resources in areas most impacted by pollution,” said Commissioner Heiple. “The Healey-Driscoll Administration is building on that network by installing new monitoring stations in places like Chinatown and funding new and advanced air sensors in neighborhoods across the state.”   

 MassDEP’s air monitoring stations test for pollutants such as ozone, carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and fine particulate matter (PM2.5). Those data are posted in near real-time on the MassAir Online portal. MassDEP also provides air quality forecasts for fine particulate matter (PM2.5) year-round and for ozone during the summer ozone season.    

Two programs funded by this $775,000 investment will support air sensors to expand on the information provided by the air monitoring stations. 

First, the Particulate Matter Air Sensor Grant Program provides “PurpleAir” air sensors at no cost to community-based and non-profit organizations, tribal communities, and municipalities. These softball-sized sensors monitor air quality by measuring fine particulate matter (PM2.5). The data from the sensors is displayed in real time on the PurpleAir website, as well as on the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Fire and Smoke Map. Sensor recipients can use that information to work with MassDEP, residents, and community groups to assess local air quality and identify areas with higher pollution levels where mitigation efforts can be directed to protect public health. This round of investment will deploy 202 sensors across the state, supplementing the 248 sensors distributed in 2021.  

Second, the Multi-Pollutant Sensor Pilot program will allow MassDEP to initially partner with two or three communities to deploy advanced air monitoring technology – black carbon and multi-pollutant air sensors – in or near environmental justice populations on a pilot basis. Forty black carbon sensors will characterize diesel emissions in areas that experience high levels of truck traffic. Fifty multi-pollutant air sensors will measure fine particulates (PM2.5), carbon monoxide, ozone, and nitrogen dioxide. The resulting data will expand awareness of local air quality conditions and inform strategies to reduce exposure to pollutants, as well as inform future placement of the sensors. 

 MassDEP’s mission is to protect and enhance the Commonwealth’s natural resources – air, water and land – to provide for the health, safety and welfare of all people, and to ensure a clean and safe environment for future generations. In carrying out this mission, MassDEP commits to address and advance environmental justice and equity for all people of the Commonwealth; to provide meaningful, inclusive opportunities for people to participate in agency decisions that affect their lives; and to ensure a diverse workforce that reflects the communities we serve.    

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