Is there something wrong with the air in South Portland, Maine?
ON A FRIDAY AFTERNOON in late April, about 100 residents of South Portland, Maine, gathered outside of James Otis Kaler Elementary School, many of them holding signs that read “No toxic emissions where children play.” They hung banners with similar messages, urging energy companies to “Be the solution, not the pollution.” Looming near the school and the rallygoers was the source of their frustration: about 20 massive oil tanks, the largest with storage capacities of more than 11 million gallons.
In total, more than 100 such tanks are clustered into so-called tank farms in this densely populated, 13-square-mile city, though not all are in use. They store materials such as crude oil, asphalt, and No. 6 fuel oil, which is used in power plants and other industrial applications. Like those tanks near the rallygoers, many abut schools, along with subsidized housing, assisted living centers, and residential neighborhoods.
A citizen group named Protect South Portland had helped organize this rally. The group was formed in 2013 to protect and improve the health of the city’s roughly 25,000 residents. It has since become part of the Tank Emissions Coalition of Maine, which also includes the American Lung Association, the Natural Resources Council of Maine, and the Sierra Club, as well as other organizations, several of whom had representatives at the rally.
