Camera installed on roof to monitor air quality

    PRESQUE ISLE – A Web cam has been placed atop Folsom-Pullen Hall at the University of Maine at Presque Isle to monitor air quality, thanks to a partnership between the University and the Micmac Environmental Health Department.    The “haze cam,” which is pointed north toward Main Street, went live last week uploading images to the Aroostook Band of Micmacs’ air quality monitoring Web site. The camera is the latest tool for the MEHD to monitor air quality in real time. The department previously had only one Web cam, located at Skyway Industrial Park, which pointed south toward Main Street and sometimes experienced problems with sun glare.
    According to Fred Corey, environmental director for the health department, the new haze cam gives the department – and the public – a real-time look at what’s happening in the local atmosphere. In the local area, ozone and particulate matter can create haze problems.
    The MEHD monitors for all primary pollutants, such as nitrogen and sulfur oxides, as well as carbon dioxide. Corey said the department has the most comprehensive air monitoring site in the state. He said that while Maine is thought of as having an abundance of fresh air, there are concerns, such as the Maine Lung Association determination that Maine has one of the highest death rates from asthma in the nation. The MEHD is funded by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, though it is overseen by the Aroostook Band of Micmacs, and it works closely with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection. Efforts to establish the monitoring project began in 2003, and the monitoring program has been in place now for about four years.
    In that time, it has worked closely with the University and its students, who have visited the site at Skyway Industrial Park to learn about what the department does and about the air quality measurements it takes. Students also have served as interns in the department’s environmental laboratory. The new haze cam is the latest collaboration for the department and the University. UMPI officials donated their time and effort to help install the camera and have provided a network connection for the project at no charge.
    “We were more than happy to help out with this project and give people a bird’s eye view of the city so they can learn more about air quality issues,” Rick Thibeault, the University’s manager of Technology Services, said.
    Corey is similarly pleased with the project: “We see this as another piece of the relationship that we have between the Micmac tribe and the University. It’s been a great resource for us. We have a staff of four at the department, and we’re all UMPI alums from the environmental studies program. It’s a huge asset to the tribe both to have students who are trained locally and to keep building new partnerships with the University.”
    To check out the view from the haze cam, visit www.micmacenvironmental.com/air/index.cfm.