Do you know Boston Chinatown has the worst air quality in the state?
If you are a resident of Boston’s Chinatown, your good night’s sleep is being harmed by the car exhaust in the air. If you work in Chinatown, you are probably breathing polluted air for eight or more hours a day. Even if you are a visitor to Chinatown and enjoying a delicious Chinese meal with your friends, you are breathing in polluted air filled with high levels of PM2.5 and ultra-fine particles. Nationwide, a PM2.5 has been going down, but not in Chinatown.
No matter who you are, no matter where you came from, air quality is important to survival. Clean air is essential for the survival of city dwellers.
Back in June 17, 2019, the Boston Globe reported that “Chinatown Has Worst Air Quality in Massachusetts” according to a report from a science advocacy group. Today, this is still a major problem. In a recent community-based participatory research project, Community Assessment of Freeway Exposure and Health (CAFEH), researchers measured ultra-fine particulate matter in the air in Chinatown and Somerville. Studies have shown that ultra-fine particles in the air can cause inflammation and high blood pressure and other cardiovascular diseases.
What caused the worst air in the state?
According to Douglas Brugge, professor and chair of the Dept. of Public Health Sciences at the Univ. of Connecticut, public transportation is the primary cause of air pollution. Boston’s Chinatown is located at the intersection of Interstate 93 and Interstate 90. At the same time, it is close to South Station where there are many diesel trains. In addition, all the traffic in the streets of Chinatown is releasing a range of ultra-fine particles such as black carbon and nitrogen dioxide. The daily traffic flow in incalculable.
Professor Brugge, who is formerly of Tufts, said that pollution changes throughout the year. It depends on the direction of the wind, the temperature, the time of day, and how many vehicles there are in the street. The high level of traffic is directly related to air pollution. “I know that there are a lot of issues in Chinatown. But I think air pollution should be one of them. It’s usually invisible. You can smell it. You know it’s bad for people’s health. And I think residents and people who work in Chinatown should be concerned about air pollution.” Brugge said that in the last two years, more and more people have had it. And that’s a good thing.
If you want to help, the mayor’s Office of Environment, Energy, and Open Space is interested in deploying air quality sensors that measure real-time data for our neighborhoods. If you want to recommend locations for air sensors, you can contact the office at: apcc@boston.gov. So far, however, there are only three air quality monitoring stations in Boston, on Harrison Ave, in Roxbury, in Kenmore Square, and at 19 Van Hillern St. near I-93. According to Stacia Sheputa, Director of Communications for the Office of Environment, Energy and Open Space, in 1970 the federal government created the parking freeze program to limit off-street commercial parking in downtown Boston by limiting parking and thus limiting the number of people that drive into downtown. But the parking freeze seems to have been limited to South Boston and East Boston. The city has additional polices and programs in place to improve air quality under the Air Pollution Control Commission and the Boston Public Health Commission and is implementing Go Boston 2030, a plan to shift people to carpooling and taking public transportation, using bicycles, etc.” Carbon Free Boston” has identified additional strategies to reduce emissions. However, there seems to be a plethora of reports and plans with very little real action.
The Chinatown community continues to very alarmed by the poisonous air surrounding residents and visitors. We will continue to follow this issue in subsequent issues of the Sampan. Again, contact apcc@boston.gov to recommend air sensors for Chinatown. And continue to contact the city encouraging them to take “real” action—not just talk about it.
SAMPAN, published by the nonprofit Asian American Civic Association, is the only bilingual Chinese-English newspaper in New England, acting as a bridge between Asian American community organizations and individuals in the Greater Boston area. It is published biweekly and distributed free-of-charge throughout metro Boston; it is also delivered to as far away as Hawaii.
