In a time when the world is in an extreme health crisis, people are making the connection between air pollution and numbers of coronavirus deaths. Public health researchers have found that even a small increase in air particle pollution can increase the coronavirus death rate by as much as 15 percent.

This becomes relevant for us in South Portland, one of Maine’s most densely populated cities, carefully following safe distancing while surrounded by 120 polluting oil tanks. The idea of even the slightest increase in throughput from Global Partners – that is, the amount of bunker fuel and asphalt they process in their heated tanks – becomes most alarming.

It is very troubling that the president has grabbed the opportunity to create more chaos by allowing the Environmental Protection Agency to eviscerate restrictions on air pollution. But surely because of home rule the EPA does not have the last word when it comes to Maine. It is incomprehensible that at this time, Global Partners is seeking authorization to quadruple their annual throughput.

With neighbors dying and nursing staff risking their lives to brave this pandemic, surely we can look to our own Maine Department of Environmental Protection to do all it can to guarantee that air pollutants from the tanks will not be increased and that careful measures will be taken to keep us safe, such as vapor recovery units and fenceline monitoring, which, according to the EPA, can stop 95 percent of air contaminants.

Surely this is the time for us all to pull together and keep each other safe.

Rachel Burger

South Portland

Copy the Story Link

« Previous

Letter to the editor: Out-of-state PACs distorting Sen. Collins’ record

Next »

Letter to the editor: Mills’ reopening priorities don’t make sense