Bill > H2040

This bill mandates that the Center for Environmental Health within the Department of Public Health conduct a comprehensive study on the health effects of particulate air pollution originating from surface transportation, with a specific focus on "fine particulate matter" (particles 2.5 micrometers or smaller) and "ultrafine particulate matter" (particles 0.1 micrometers or smaller). The study will examine respiratory and cardiovascular diseases and cancer incidence in populations living within 500 feet of major roadways or rail lines used by diesel locomotives, and will require information from the Departments of Environmental Protection and Transportation, as well as the Boston Metropolitan Planning Organization. Furthermore, the Department of Environmental Protection, in consultation with the Department of Public Health, will develop regulations for health risk assessment guidelines and exposure standards for ultrafine and fine particulate matter, including procedures for air dispersion modeling and estimating health risks, and will create a plan for monitoring these particulates to identify areas of greatest health hazard, with at least $250,000 to be appropriated for these efforts.