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PRESS RELEASE
What: Eugene City Councilor
When is the Event: Monday, April 28,
Location:
Contact 1: Phyllis Barkhurst, Campaign Manager for Elect
Office: 541-484-9595
Cell: 541-554-7576
389
www.robhandy.com
Contact 2: Lisa Arkin, Executive Director,
Office: 541-465-8860
Cell: 541-520-2695
Councilor Ortiz and
JH Baxter treats wood products such as utility poles and railroad ties with creosote and other chemicals. As part of the process, creosote, pentachlorophenol and other hazardous fumes escape into the air. On the morning of February 18 the facility reported a fire in the vapor-phase carbon adsorption equipment which controls the emission of dangerous and odorous vapors. The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency was informed about eight hours later in the mid-afternoon. The Eugene Fire Department responded and the fire was extinguished the next day, after smoldering for over thirty hours. The company installed new control equipment on
Documents filed with the Air Protection Agency by JH Baxter show that emissions of creosote and pentachlorophenol during the 51 days that the vapor control equipment was off-line were almost double the amount that would normally be released to the neighborhood air. After complaints of strong odors from neighbors in the vicinity of Roosevelt, Elmira and Waite streets, LRAPA staff conducted informal assessments of the vapor intrusion. Odors were detected at moderate to strong levels.
The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) has determined creosote and pentachlorophenol are probably carcinogenic to humans.
Handy, who is running against Commissioner Bobby Green, the current commissioner for Northwest Eugene, expressed his unease that neighbors in the vicinity were not informed about the fire and the increased emissions.
“We know that people living near a wood treatment facility producing utility poles, may be exposed to pentachlorophenol in the air,” said Handy. “The EPA has determined that these chemicals are respiratory irritants and carcinogenic. I would hope that the company and LRAPA could have worked together to inform the neighbors so that they could have had the opportunity to make good choices about reducing exposures to their children.”
Neither LRAPA nor JH Baxter issued a statement or distributed information about the fire and the fact that emission were at higher levels over the course of the 51 days that the equipment was not functioning.
Ortiz, who also serves on the LRAPA Board of Directors, was surprised that she and other board members did not learn about the Baxter fire and the shutdown of emission control equipment until mid-April, more than two months later.
“The board was never informed until Oregon Toxics Alliance brought it to our attention,” said Ortiz. I think that the health concerns and the fact that these fumes are a public nuisance warranted our involvement from the start. I would have asked for a public announcement so that my constituents could be informed. They need to know more about their level of exposure.”
Ortiz suggests that LRAPA might want to explore a “reverse 911” neighborhood alert for health risks. “We have the technology to call fence-line communities and use a recorded message to alert them to a health risk. We should explore the possibility of using this when necessary.”
Lisa Arkin, Executive Director of the Oregon Toxics Alliance said, “Neighbors need to be notified when their air quality is affected. Certainly LRAPA could include neighbors in the stakeholder process when JH Baxter comes up for permit renewal in the next year. Based on the amount of community concern, we feel there is a need to tighten up allowable levels of emissions.”
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