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BOSTON (State House News Service) — A group of teenagers skipped high school Thursday to implore lawmakers to improve indoor and outdoor air quality, with the goal of targeting environmental justice communities that have been disproportionately impacted by worsening air pollution.
People who are subject to poor air quality in neighborhoods in Springfield, Chelsea and Boston, among other cities around Massachusetts, face elevated risks of experiencing asthma, cardiovascular disease, cancer, strokes and diabetes, students and environmental experts told a legislative committee.
Proposals from Reps. Christine Barber and Mike Connolly and Sen. Pat Jehlen (H 2131 / S 1382) would expand outdoor air quality monitoring in pollution hotspots and task the Department of Environmental Protection with establishing yearly targets to reduce pollutants. Under the legislation, air filtration systems would also need to be installed in eligible buildings -- including schools, residential and commercial buildings, and correctional facilities -- that are near airports, train stations, marine terminals or certain highways.
"We know, especially coming out of the COVID pandemic, that the air we breathe is a matter of life or death," Barber, a Somerville Democrat, told the Joint Committee on Public Health on Thursday morning.
Written By Alison Kuznitz/SHNS
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