Aberdeen: Sierra Pacific’s Polluted Prison By John Williams When Sierra Pacific Industries (SPI) opened a new lumber mill across the road from Steve Wycoff’s metal shop in Aberdeen, Washington, Steve hoped the new jobs might help turn the local economy around. But instead SPI turned Steve’s cozy metal shop, where he’d worked for 15 years, …
Air Toxics Bill Stirs Opposition from Supporters of Cleaner Air Oregon By PAUL KOBERSTEIN Senate Bill 1541, the bill that would gut many provisions of the proposed Cleaner Air Oregon program before they take effect, is getting critical reviews from clean air advocates, many of whom have taken to Facebook and other social media to …
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Cancer-Causing Hexavalent Chromium Detected in Portland Steel Foundry’s Air Emissions by PAUL KOBERSTEIN in the movie “Erin Brockovich,” a UCLA chemistry professor tells Julia Roberts, playing the title role, that there are three kinds of chromium. One form is necessary for good health, a second form, trivalent chromium, is relatively benign, and a third form, …
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Citizens, industry at odds over new air toxic rules By PAUL KOBERSTEIN DEQ falls short in protecting residents’ health, some charge are recent hearing The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s new Cleaner Air Oregon program doesn’t go far enough to protect the health of people who live near industries that emit toxic air pollution, several …
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Cleaning up our toxic air By PAUL KOBERSTEIN If a new panel appointed by Gov. Kate Brown has its way, Oregon could become a national leader in the battle against toxic air pollution from industrial sources. Brown’s 18-member Cleaner Air Oregon advisory board has asked the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality to bring health impacts …
DEQ officials say the program attempts to inventory all toxic emissions in the state and rein them in By PAUL KOBERSTEIN By now, many Portlanders have grown accustomed to the fact that their air can make them sick. Toxic air pollution has been an unhappy part of Portlanders’ lives for decades, but the state’s environmental …
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Did DEQ Director Richard Whitman just help industry weaken Oregon’s air toxic rules? UPDATED (2/16) Will the new Cleaner Air Oregon program die on the vine even before it goes into effect? And if so, many Oregonians are wondering whether DEQ Director Richard Whitman helped do it in. By PAUL KOBERSTEIN Whitman acknowledges that he helped …
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EDITORIAL: PASS SENATE BILL 1541 By PAUL KOBERSTEIN Sometime this weekend, maybe even as early as Friday, the Oregon Legislature will vote on Senate Bill 1541 – legislation that for the first time will enact legal restrictions on the toxic pollution that permeates much of Oregon’s air. The Legislature should pass this bill. SB 1541 …
ESCO Fills Portland Air WIth Carcinogens By PAUL KOBERSTEIN Portland has worked hard at building a reputation as a sustainable community, and people around the world have taken notice. In 2008, the online eco-magazine Grist ranked Portland as the second most sustainable city on the planet, behind Reykjavik, Iceland. This lofty ranking is not just …
Examining ESCO’s ‘no harm’ Claims By PAUL KOBERSTEIN Carter Webb, manager of safety and environment for ESCO Inc., the corporation that owns two steel foundries at the northern edge of the Northwest neighborhood, acknowledges that his company’s air emissions have created some enemies as well as some alleged misery among its neighbors. “We’re the focus …