SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine — For the last several weeks, residents in South Portland have been collecting air quality samples for a study conducted by the city and Maine's Department of Environmental Protection -- but many left the meeting with more questions than answers.
The air quality study was prompted by concerns about the fumes coming from nearby storage tanks, which contain asphalt or oil -- which the state says are giving off volatile organic compounds. In fact, the U.S EPA says Global Partners LP tank farm, which is located in South Portland, has exceeded its emissions cap for years.
Despite that knowledge, the DEP says it's still too early in the study to be pointing any fingers. Instead, the main focus right now is to collect as much data as they can.
Tuesday night's meeting with both city leaders and representatives of Maine's DEP shed a little more light on where that air quality study stands now with what little information they have been able to collect so far. Representatives say patience is everything right now because this type of work takes time.
In June when the program launched, more than 40 residents initially volunteered to take part. In addition to volunteers collecting air samples with single-use canisters, the DEP also set up six air quality monitoring devices across the city.
The air samples collected were analyzed by the DEP at its Air Lab in Augusta, according to the city. There, they tested for more than 50 different types of Hazardous Air Pollutants.
So far, only six of the samples taken have been able to be fully tested. Initial findings show that while there are harmful pollutants in the air, it's too early to say exactly where they are coming from and where they are most prevalent.
"We are finding stuff, so those of you who are reporting odors...you're being validated in my view," Danielle Twomey said. She heads the Laboratory Analyses and Quality Assurance department within the DEP.
For the full findings, click here.
The DEP says its plan is to continue taking samples in South Portland and compile a larger data set. While doing that, they plan to work with the state's toxicologist to assess just how much of an impact this could have on the city's residents.
"South Portland is part of our bigger picture, but some your neighbors might have stuff that might blow this way and vice versa," Twomey said. "It's not as simple as pretending the walls around South Portland are permanent, there is stuff coming in and stuff going out -- there's a lot more that we need to look at and we're just acquiring that information."
So without being able to take action just yet, what's next? The DEP says it will be uploading all of the results on its website by the end of this week and it will be updated regularly.
South Portland city councilors expect to have another workshop in late fall to present data from all grab canister samples, along with updated data from the six fixed stations located across the city. They say at that point, with more data in hand, they can expect recommendations on how to move forward.