Causes of Pollution:
Area Sources-Automotive:
Gasoline vapors contain cancer-causing agents and contribute to the formation of ground-level ozone, or smog, which aggravates asthma, bronchitis, emphysema and other respiratory ailments. Preventing these vapors from escaping to the air ensures a healthier environment for everyone in Massachusetts.
Stage II Vapor Recovery combines special nozzles, hoses and pumps to capture gasoline vapors that are displaced when vehicles are being refueled, thus preventing those fumes from entering the atmosphere. Massachusetts began requiring large dispensers of gasoline to install Stage II systems as early as 1991. Today, all but the very smallest of facilities are required to have Stage II equipment in place. [http://www.mass.gov/dep/air/community/daqcpu10.htm ]
An estimate system that could be used simply with the data that was collected by the community mappers was not identified so that specific air pollution estimates for this category of Area Sources was not completed as part of this project. However, since MA DEP did provide a list of known gasoline dispensers, we did compare the state list to those identified by the community mappers. In this comparison, we found that nine additional facilities were identified by the community mappers that were not on the state list, while an additional five facilities were also identified that may have been mis-categorized by the mappers. This suggests the possibility that the state list of 41 gasoline distributors in the three target communities may need to account for an additional 22 -34 % in estimating air emissions.
Mapping Versus DEP ERP filing Discrepencies:
Beverly Notes: The community mappers did not identify three of the gasoline dispensers that do self-report through MADEP ERP. However, the remaining 17 gasoline dispensers that were identified do report through MADEP ERP. There was one additional gasoline dispensers that the community mappers identified that appears to be appropriately identified, while six more appear to be facilities that may only distribute to internal customers or for purposes other than automotive. There were an additional 11 facilities identified in Beverly that performed auto painting, and 28 additional facilities that may fall into the Body Repair and Paint Facilities category.
Salem Notes: The community mappers did not identify six of the gasoline dispensers that do self-report through MADEP ERP. However, the remaining 10 gasoline dispensers that were identified do report through MADEP ERP. There was one additional gasoline distributor that the community mappers identified that appears to be appropriately identified, while five more appear to have been mis-categorized by the mappers. There were an additional 24 facilities identified in Salem that performed auto painting and 61 additional facilities that may fall into the Body Repair and Paint Facilities category.
Marblehead Notes: The community mappers did not identify two of the gasoline dispensers, both Marblehead municipal properties that do self-report through the MADEP ERP. They did, however, identify one additional location that does not appear on the MADEP ERP. There were also three facilities identified that performed auto painting, and seven additional facilities that may fall into the Body Repair and Paint Facilities category.
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