TITLE: How Polluted is Boston’s Air

AUTHOR: Diana Y. Buda

SCHOOL: Boston Latin School

SCHOOL ADDRESS: 78 Avenue Louis Pasteur, Boston, MA. 02115

Purpose: To determine which of the four selected test sites in Boston (Dorchester, the North End, Allston, and Roslindale) has the most pollution in the form of airborne particles.

Procedure: I smeared (12) 3" X 5" index cards with vaseline, thereby creating airborne particle receptors. I posted each card outdoors at its test site for 36 hours, collected them, covered them with plastic wrap to preserve them, and repeated this process twice more.

Results: Dorchester, on average had the most pollution in the form of airborne particles.

Conclusion: Dorchester has shown to be the most polluted. Both Dorchester and the North End have a significantly higher number of particles than Allston and Roslindale. Dorchester and the North End are under airplane flight paths; Allston and Roslindale are not. I think that the airplane emissions might be a key factor contributing to the higher air pollution in Dorchester and the North End.