By Michael Coughlin Jr.
An event was held last Friday commemorating Logan Airport’s 100th Anniversary and the modernization of Terminal E; however, some people believe that there is no reason to be celebrating.
While this event drew the attendance of elected officials like Governor Maura Healey and Mayor Michelle Wu, it also drew criticism and protest from activist groups.
Members of several climate advocacy groups, such as Extinction Rebellion Boston (XR), Mothers Out Front, GreenRoots, and more, gathered at the newly renovated Terminal E to peacefully protest the celebration before they were asked to leave and continued at the Airport Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) station.
As part of this demonstration, members from these groups came together with signs, banners, and even an inflatable airplane that voiced their displeasure with the airport and the modernization of Terminal E, which adds four gates to the terminal.
Specifically, a press release from XR detailing the reason for the protest makes claims about the airport’s effect on pollution and people’s health, pointing to studies like the Logan Airport Health Study.
For example, the Logan Airport Health Study’s Executive Summary identifies that “children in the high exposure area were estimated to have three to four times the likelihood of this respiratory outcome [probable asthma] compared with children in the low exposure area.”
Moreover, it also indicated that “individuals diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) were statistically significantly more likely to have lived in the high exposure area for three or more years.”
Jule Manitz of XR also explained the purpose of the demonstration, saying, “We think this should not be a reason to celebrate because the City of Boston has declared the climate crisis to be a public health emergency.”
Manitz cited what she called the expansion of Terminal E and other projects, saying they have burdened East Boston and added, “There is no reason to celebrate, and we wanted to make our voice heard.”
Valinda Chan of Mothers Out Front was also of the opinion that there was nothing to be celebrating.
“We wanted to make our voices heard as neighbors and as community members that this has been 100 years of air pollution, 100 years of noise pollution, 100 years of health impacts on the community, and we don’t think that this is something we should be celebrating,” said Chan.
“Given the attendance of 500 people, including the Governor and the Mayor, we wanted to call on our community, our elected officials, and ask them to please prioritize the health of members in this community,” they added.
For Chan, this issue hits close to home, as they are an East Boston resident. Chan detailed the experience they had to go through in attempting to limit exposure to air pollution for their young toddler and an unborn child whom they were pregnant with.
“I had to think about even basic decisions that I shouldn’t even be thinking about, like which way is the wind blowing? Which park do I go to based on that day,” said Chan.
“It was my third trimester, and I was thinking about, do I open the windows today? It’s so hot,” they added.
Furthermore, both Manitz and Chan emphasized that the protest was also to send a message to the Massachusetts Port Authority (Massport). That message was no more expansion and to compensate East Boston residents.
“It’s not okay for them to continue to pollute and expand at the expense of our health and residents in this community and our families, and we also want them to compensate East Boston residents for the expenses and the burden of living in this community,” said Chan.
Manitz echoed Chan, saying that East Boston residents should be compensated. She also said, “We don’t want any more airport expansions neither explicitly by the airport nor implicity by vendors,” referring to projects like the haul road and Eversource Substation on Condor Street.
With all this being said, it should be noted that although the modernization at Terminal E includes the addition of four new gates, a release on Massport’s website says, “The goal of this project was to create a sustainable, high-performance, resilient, and resource-efficient terminal building that is comfortable for passengers and employees.”
The release continues, “The design will achieve energy efficiencies at a minimum 20% better than the MA Energy Code. Upgrades to the HVAC system will improve the terminal’s overall energy efficiency and help achieve LEED Gold certification,” and cites other benefits such as lower energy and greenhouse gas emissions, air quality improvement, and more.
In the end, it is clear that although Logan Airport’s historic milestone and Terminal E modernization were celebrated by many, not everyone was pleased.
“The only way that we can make change is for us to speak up and make sure that our voices are heard and we don’t comply,” said Chan.
“We have science and data now that shows us that this is not something that should be taken lightly.”