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THE SAUGUS ADVOCATE – FRIDAY, JANUARY 15, 2021 Page 3 Softening the Sound Ongoing acoustics study and installation of new silencer system should eliminate noise problems at plant, Wheelabrator officials say By Mark E. Vogler t will sound like the difference between a power mower and a vacuum cleaner. That’s what officials at Wheelabrator Technologies, Inc. say the installation of a new, upgraded silencer system will mean for residents from Revere, Saugus and Lynn who have been irked over the past 18 months by the noise emanating from the trash-to-energy plant on Route 107 in Saugus. In technical terms, they say, a new system that is expected to be installed this spring at the cost of about $750,000 will reduce the noise level from 96 decibels to 70 decibels – roughly the equivalent of a household vacuum cleaner. “I think all of the neighbors should be delighted,” Revere City Council President Anthony Zambuto said in an interview this week. “If it lowers the sound level down to the equivI alent of a vacuum cleaner, then the citizens of Revere in the Point of Pines will never hear the noise again. I think this is a win-win-win for everybody, and it shows that Wheelabrator is trying to be a good neighbor,” he said. “So, personally, I’m thrilled and excited about it. And I think all of the neighbors should be, too. I think it’s a positive thing that I think will make all of the neighbors feel a lot better.” Wheelabrator learned of the less noisy alternative as a result of an ongoing consultant’s engineering study being performed as a condition of a state Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) consent order in response to numerous citizen noise complaints and enforcement action initiated by the Saugus Board of Health. Representatives of Wood, a Chelmsford-based engineering company, briefed the Board of Health at last week’s meeting on an acoustics study they are conducting for Wheelabrator as part of a solution to the noise problems which have disturbed residents who live within earshot of the plant. The study will help guide the company in determining what is loud, long lasting, unpleasant, distracting and irritating noise. “In response to community concerns and in conjunction with the ongoing work of the Board of Health sub-committee, we have decided to voluntarily move forward with this project, which we anticipate will be completed in the spring,” Wheelabrator’s Vice President of Environmental, Health and Safety, James Connolly, said. “We appreciate the opportunity for a constructive dialogue and are committed to working with the town to strengthen our partnership moving forward,” he said. The noise has become a “This is going to be the most dangerous month…” Crabtree briefs selectmen on COVID-19 as surges continues; confirmed cases increase to 2,847 By Mark E. Vogler S augus has experienced close to 300 newly confirmed COVID-19 cases over the past week. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) has notified the Town of Saugus of 2,847 confirmed cases of COVID-19, according to a press release issued yesterday. It also noted one additional death, raising the total to 54 deaths. “This is going to be the most dangerous month, leading into February,” Town Manager Scott C. Crabtree told selectmen during a briefing on the Coronavirus at Tuesday night’s (Jan. 12) meeting. “I think this is the time to be as diligent as possible. Unfortunately, not everybody does what they are supposed to do…People without any symptoms are spreading the virus,” he said. On Tuesday night, Crabtree told selectmen the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in town had soared to 2,781. But a press release that his office provided yesterday (Thursday, Jan. 14) morning noted an increase of 66. Board of Selectmen Chair Anthony Cogliano wanted to know when the public might be able to walk into Town Hall again. “We’re doing everything we can on our part,” Crabtree said. “We’ll look at this in another four weeks and see where we’re at,” he said. Cogliano said he has been “pretty vocal at seeing our kids back to school.” “Maybe now is not the time, given the situation we’re in,” he added. Cogliano said he is worried about the Jan. 19 (Tuesday) date, which is set for Saugus Public School students to return to school for orientation as the district prepares for a transition from remote learning from home to the hybrid learning model, which provides two days a week in school and the rest of the week at home. “Best of luck to the School Committee making this decision,” Cogliano said. Crabtree said the Town of Saugus continues to make modifications to its municipal buildings, including the schools, to provide a safer and healthier environment once the buildings are alDANGEROUS | SEE PAGE 12 problem for several years, overlapping the times that the turbine which generates electricity is taken out of service. If the turbine is unavailable, high-pressure steam is released into the atmosphere. The drag valve, equipment which functions much as a car muffler, is designed to reduce the noise. But the current silencer system in use at the Wheelabrator plant produces a nominal 96-decibel sound level. The system that is scheduled to be installed will produce a nominal 70-decibel sound level, according to company officials. “I think Wheelabrator gets a lot of blame for noise that really isn’t their noise,” Zambuto said. “You get the sound from the GE plant in Lynn, the traffic from the Lynnway and the planes that fly overhead. Let’s face it. The plant is a target because people don’t like it. So, I’d say the silencer that’s going to be installed and the study are real positive things.” SNOW BLOWER SALES, SERVICE & REPAIRS Pickup/Delivery Available 1039 BROADWAY, REVERE 781-289-6466 781-289-6466 WWW.BIKERSOUTFITTER.COM WWW.BIKERSOUTFITTER.COM Gerry D’Ambrosio Attorney-at-Law Is Your Estate in Order? Do you have an update Will, Health Care Proxy or Power of Attorney? If Not, Please Call for a Free Consultation. 14 Proctor Avenue, Revere (781) 284-5657

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