Table Of Content

Published by the Environmental Management Unit Logan Office Center A quarterly environmental newsletter Issue No. 22, Quarter III - 2005 Massport Joins WasteWise Airport Edge Buffers In Process As part of a renewed recycling initiative Massport Massport has made a significant financial has joined the voluntary commitment to enhance the public edges of Logan Environmental Protection Agency Airport with architectural and landscape (EPA) partnership program. improvements. The buffers include locations along WasteWise is the country’s first the perimeter boundary of the airport. national voluntary solid The first of the buffer projects, Bayswater waste reduction Embankment, was completed in 2001. The project program. included landscape beautification and streetscape Massport has installed several recycling bins for improvements along Bayswater Street. Two mixed paper and newspapers in the newly opened additional buffer projects, the Navy Fuel Pier Buffer Terminal A at Logan Airport. Additional and the Southwest Service Area Buffer, are receptacles for plastic, aluminum and glass will be currently in process. installed soon. Additionally, the recycling effort The Navy Fuel Pier design has been completed and will be brought to the other terminals at the Airport bid should be going out for construction this fall. and to the Logan Office Center. Construction of the buffer will commence in the As a WasteWise member, Massport gains access to spring of 2006. When completed, this buffer will the experiences of the over 1,100 organizations that have landscaped areas along the water in East are part of the program. The requirement under the Boston. program is to establish three new waste prevention Continued on page 2 activities, expand or improve current recycling Hazy Days efforts and purchase additional products with recycling content. Massport has been gathering Regional haze occurs when fine particles scatter in information about recycling programs around the the atmosphere and alter the light, limiting the country through WasteWise forums. The distance that people can see. Unlike smog (ground- experiences of other organizations are invaluable level ozone), which is primarily a summertime when determining successful strategies for problem, regional haze can occur all year round. It implementation. can persist over a wide geographic area and reduce visibility many months out of the year. Global Warming Impacts In Massachusetts regional haze Hurricanes is monitored by real time cameras from the Blue Hill Observatory in A recent report showed that storms with the power Milton and shoreline of Hurricane Katrina are becoming more common, north of Boston. in part because of global warming. The number of From these vantage category 4 and 5 hurricanes rose to an average of 18 points, under ideal per year since 1990. The report does not show an conditions the Boston city skyline is visible. The increase in the number of storms, just the intensity image is updated every 15 minutes and can be of storms. The increased intensity coincides with a viewed online at: nearly 1 degree Fahrenheit increase in the surfaces of tropical seas. • www.mass.gov/de/bwp/daqc/haze.htm Excerpted from the New York Times.com September 16, 2005 • www.hazecam.net 1 Edge Buffers continued from page 1 FOR YOUR INFORMATION The Southwest Service Area buffer project will include landscape improvements along Maverick Gas Saving Ideas Street in East Boston along with the installation of new concrete sidewalk and granite curbing to Drive with a Light Foot - aggressive driving can complete the pedestrian walking path. Additionally lower mileage of 33%, equivalent to about $1.00 a new ornamental fence will be installed behind the per gallon sidewalk. Observe the Speed Limit – the best mileage is at These projects are designed in consultation with the about 55 mph, mileage decreases rapidly above 60 neighbors and others through an open community mph process. ENFORCEMENT ACTION Remove Junk from Your Car – empty the trunk and IN THE NEWS the backseat, an extra 100 lbs could reduce your mileage by 2% Clean Harbors comes to an agreement with the Justice Department and the Environmental Avoid Excessive Idling – turn off the ignition if you Protection Agency (EPA) on the enhanced will be stopped for more than 1 minute calculation and reporting of benzene emissions. The agreement with Clean Harbors is part of EPA’s Get a Tune Up – a poorly tuned car can use up to efforts to improve compliance with benzene 25% more gas regulations among hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facilities. Benzene is a Keep your Tires Properly Inflated – under inflated hazardous air pollutant and known carcinogen. tires can lower mileage 0.4% for every psi drop The agreement requires Clean Harbors to verify the Drive Less – carpool, combine trips, eat at home, actual benzene quantities in shipments received shop on the internet, and take public transportation from its customers. Benzene estimations, using the median in a range of benzene concentrations Buy a Fuel Efficient Car – consider fuel economy in reported by customers, is now prohibited. your decision making process To meet this obligation, Clean Harbors will revise its nationwide “Waste Material Profile Sheet” to Buy Gas during the Coolest Time of the Day – early require all customers covered by the benzene waste am or late pm is the best; gas pumps measure regulation to properly evaluate and certify the volumes of gasoline, not fuel density amount of benzene in their waste shipments. Excerpted from EPS webpage 9/13/2005 Avoid Filling Gas Tank to the Top – never fill a gas tank past the first “click” of the fuel nozzle EnviroQuestion How long does it take for a glass bottle to break down in a Close Your Windows – open windows cause air landfill? drag, reducing mileage by 10% Answer in the next issue. Limit Air Conditioning Use – only use the air Quarter IV Question: What is ozone made up of? conditioning when you need it, the air conditioner Answer: Ozone (O ) is made up of three oxygen atoms and is 3 increases gas consumption by 20% formed through chemical reactions between natural and man- made emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and nitrogen oxides in the presence of sunlight. Excerpted from the Environmental Resource Center Environmental Tip of the Week 8/22/2005 2