At a time when we are all so profoundly aware of our health, it is extremely important to remember that even in our South Portland yards and homes we are at risk every day. The air we breathe constantly in our neighborhoods has chemicals that can be damaging to the health of our community. Our homes are among oil storage tanks that are actively putting our health at risk.
We don’t know how long this pandemic will last or what our future will look like. However, it is essential that we are able to maintain our daily health as we combat this virus. It has certainly become clear how much a health threat can impact our lives. What is easy to forget now is that long before COVID-19 our community was still at risk. Children in daycare should not be playing outside and commenting on a horrible smell; we should not have to roll up our windows as we drive down local roads.
It is easy to be lost in our own personal bubble of COVID-19, for it has impacted each of us. However, the ongoing threats still remain and they need to be addressed. We need to be able to understand the risk of the Volatile Organic Compounds being released by the oil storage tanks and be able to understand the permitted limits and the formulas that are currently being used and what changes are needed for Global to clean up its emissions.
Having Global install a monitoring system to alert the public of what is being released 24/7 would be an important step to keeping the public informed of what needs to be done to improve our air quality.
Please make your voice heard at the Maine DEP and send your concerns to air-global.DEP@maine.gov to request 24/7 fence line monitoring to inform and protect our community from the chemicals that are currently impacting our lives every day.
Many thanks.
Eva Platt
South Portland
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