What's in our air

What’s in our air?

Despite UP’s ‘green’ efforts, a danger lurks in the air from transportation, industry pollution

Rosemary Peters Editor-in-chief peters12@up.edu In the time it takes you to read this sentence, you will have potentially breathed in fumes of 19 different chemicals.

The amount you inhale depends on your location, time of day, weather, wind pattern and other factors, but one fact remains: You are breathing in toxic emissions.

All 19 of these toxic emissions can cause respiratory problems.

Eighteen of these toxic emissions are known or suspected carcinogens.

Sixteen are neurotoxins and can lead to neurological issues.

According to the EPA’s most recent National Air Toxic Assessment (NATA), an assessment that contains 2005 emission data for 177 pollutants, two main sources of these toxics are mobile sources and industry.

These sources affect students, staff and faculty at the University, despite UP’s best efforts to live and promote a green and sustainable lifestyle.

MOBILE SOURCES What is three miles east of I-5, a few hundred feet south of the maritime vessels in the Willamette River and surrounded by several miles of train tracks?

If you answered the University of Portland, you’re right.

Despite its picturesque setting on the bluff overlooking the Willamette River, UP’s location puts it in a hotbed of air pollution from transportation sources such as maritime vessels and trains.

And don’t forget to include the cars, motorcycles, minivans, sport-utility vehicles, trucks and buses taking the pedal to the metal on nearby streets and I-5.

In 2005, Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) completed the Portland Air Toxics Study (PATS), an air quality modeling study projecting air

toxic concentrations for Portland up to 2017.

“We used economic growth factors that we get from the Metro economist. Consumer products, industrial growth, transportation, shipping – anything that would affect emissions,” Sarah Armitage of the DEQ said. “From there we got estimated emissions for what’s in the air in 2017.”

DEQ’s study showed that 15 air pollutants were above the health benchmarks, with eight being more than 10 times higher than health benchmarks: benzene, 1,3 butadiene, diesel particulate matter, formaldehyde, cadmium, 15 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, naphthalene and acrolein.

These substances, excluding acrolein, are known or suspected to cause cancer. Three of these pollutants – benzene, 1,3 butadiene and diesel particulate matter – are largely coming from the transportation sector.

“If you are within 500 meters on either side (of a freeway) there are a lot higher levels of toxic air pollutions,” Armitage said. “And North Portland does have a freeway running through it.”

The EPA estimates that mobile air toxic sources, such as cars or trains, account for nearly half of all cancers attributed to outdoor sources of air toxics.

The cancer issue is a significant concern for North Portland residents, as Multnomah County’s air is the seventh most carcinogenic air out of the 3,000 counties surveyed in 2005 for the NATA report. Portland’s air, which contains 14 carcinogens including some from mobile sources, could cause 726 extra cases of cancer for residents of Multnomah County, according to the DEQ. In addition to containing carcinogens, Multnomah County’s air is the worst in the U.S. for contributing to citizens’ respiratory problems, according to the EPA. Respiratory problems from mobile sources are largely due to

Air pollution by 2017

Rosemary Peters | THE BEACON

Using Department of Environmental Quality data, in March The Oregonian mapped the risk of air toxics by census block for the Metro area. The school icon represents the approximate location of the University of Portland. The map shows DEQ’s estimates of average pollution in each census block by 2017 compared to benchmark health goals known as “ambient benchmark concentrations.” Pollution less than 10 times the benchmarks is good; levels more than 100 times above the benchmarks raise concerns. The University is in the range of 100-150.

Courtesy of Mark Friesen of The Oregonian

Times above ambient benchmark concentration:

a person’s exposure to tiny particles called fine particulate matter. According to the EPA, diesel engines (diesel being the dominant fuel used by the commercial transportation sector) are one of the largest manmade sources of this particulate matter.

In fact, several types of diesel engines, according to the 2008 National Emissions Inventory, power the majority of commercial maritime vessels like the ones in Willamette River.

According to Armitage, diesel particulate matter was taken into account in the PATS study.

“We tracked who goes in and out of the port and the type of ship and the estimate of what they’re burning while they’re there, up and down the river,” Armitage said. “There is some influence from shipping. They’re not a huge influence on the air toxics of most concern, but the closer you get, the more impact there would

be.”

This increases health concerns for UP as its location along the Willamette River exposes students, faculty and staff to these maritime vessels’ diesel exhaust every day.

INDUSTRIAL SOURCES Cancer and respiratory risks aren’t only coming from air toxics from the transportation sector.

The DEQ says higher concentrations of air toxics are found in areas with industrial activity.

The closer an individual is to an industry, the more exposure he or she will have to those industries’ pollutants. This potentially makes the proportion of the overall air pollution he or she is experiencing from industry significantly higher than pollution from transportation sector, traditionally the larger part of an individual’s exposure to air pollution.

With industrial business stretching from Swan Island to Kelley Point, there are 15 industries in the 97217 and 97203 area codes that have the potential to contribute to the University’s air pollution problem, depending on daily factors such as weather and wind patterns, EPA documents show.

“Each industrial facility has a unique profile on what they emit and when they emit,” Armitage said. “They are unlike other types of emissions.”

There are approximately 1,400 Oregon companies that have air permits through the DEQ. These companies, including 24 near the University, are required to report to the EPA estimates of how many toxic chemicals they release as part of its Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) program.

The latest report (2010) shows that industries near the University See Emissions, page 14

Pollution from industry

Each industry that emits over a pound of any chemical must report it to the EPA. The EPA calculates how these chemicals spread over every square kilometer. The distance each plume travels depends on height of the smokestacks, weight of the chemical, local topography and velocity of the chemicals.

Most of the chemicals fall very close to the plants, but some can travel for miles. The direction of the wind can also have an affect of where the chemicals fall.

Each square mile can experience pollution from several industrial sources.

Designed by Rosemary Peters | THE BEACON Information from USA Today’s Smokestack Effect and the EPA

What are you breathing?

INDUSTRIES AND THEIR POLLUTANTS NOTE: All measurements are in pounds.

Information has been taken from the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory for 2010.

ARCLIN SURFACES: 26,997 -4,4’-isopropylidenediphenol: 79 -formaldehyde: 749 -formic acid: 80 -methanol: 25,108 -phenol: 587 -triethylamine: 394 ASH GROVE CEMENT: 1 -lead compounds: 1 BULK TRANSPORTATION PORTLAND TERMINAL: 68 -copper compounds: 68 CAMCO: 1,223 -methanol: 1,223 CASCADE GENERAL: 83,548 -copper: 1,654 -lead: 12 -n-butyl alcohol: 45,116 -xylene (mixed isomers): 35,671 -zinc compounds: 1,095 COLUMBIA STEEL: 112,611 -chromium compounds: 8,294 -manganese compounds: 103,317 -molybdenum trioxide: 767 -nickel compounds: 233 CROWN FOOD: 17,137 -certain glycol ethers: 7,261 -ethylbenzene: 1,500 -n-butyl alcohol: 1,999 -xylene (mixed isomers): 6,377 DAIMLER TRUCKS: 58,399 -ethylene glycol: 505 -n-butyl alcohol: 57,639 -sodium nitrite: 255 EVRAZ OREGON STEEL: 884 -chromium compounds: 98 -lead compounds: 64 -manganese compounds: 664 -nickel compounds: 58 JR SIMPLOT CO RIVERGATE TERMINAL: 858 -ammonia: 858 KANTO CORP: 30 -ammonia: 10 -hydrogen fluoride: 10 -nitric acid: 10 LACAMAS LABS: 13,260 -methanol: 9,700 -methyl tert-butyl ether: 200 -n,n-dimethylformamide: 85 -toluene: 3,275 NORTHWEST PIPE: 11 -manganese: 11 RODDA PAINT: 13,675 -certain glycol ethers: 859 -ethylbenzene: 947 -ethylene glycol: 1,751 -methanol: 344 -toluene: 5,548 -xylene (mixed isomers): 4,226

HEALTH RISKS OF FREQUENTLY RELEASED POLLUTANTS IN NORTH PORTLAND NOTE: All measurements are in pounds.

Unless otherwise stated, information has been taken from the EPA’s website and EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory for 2010.

N-BUTYL ALCOHOL: 104,454 N-butyl alcohol is a colorless liquid with a strong, mildly alcoholic odor. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), it is an eye, nose, throat and skin irritant. Certain levels of exposure to n-butyl alcohol can cause death from respiratory failure and cardiac failure. Exposure can occur through inhalation, absorption through the skin, ingestion and contact with eyes or skin.

MANGANESE: 103,963 Chronic (long-term) exposure to high levels of manganese by inhalation in humans may result in central nervous system (CNS) effects. Visual reaction time, hand steadiness and eye-hand coordination were affected in chronically-exposed workers. A syndrome named manganism may result from chronic exposure to higher levels. Manganism is characterized by feelings of weakness and lethargy, tremors, a mask-like face and psychological disturbances. Respiratory effects have also been noted in workers chronically exposed by inhalation. Impotence and loss of libido have been noted in male workers afflicted with manganism.

METHANOL: 36,375 Exposure may occur from ambient air and during the use of solvents.

Acute or chronic exposure to methanol by inhalation or ingestion may result in blurred vision, headache, dizziness and nausea. No information is available on the reproductive, developmental or carcinogenic effects of methanol. Birth defects have been observed in the offspring of rats and mice exposed to methanol by inhalation. The EPA hasn’t classified methanol as a carcinogen.

XYLENE MIXED ISOMERS: 11,698 Acute inhalation of mixed xylenes irritates the eyes, nose and throat.

There are gastrointestinal effects and neurological effects from exposure. Chronic inhalation of mixed xylenes results primarily in CNS effects such as headache, dizziness, fatigue, tremors and incoordination.

Respiratory, cardiovascular and kidney effects have also been reported.

The EPA hasn’t classified xylene mixed isomers as carcinogens.

TOLUENE: 8,823 The CNS is the primary target of toluene toxicity for acute and chronic exposures. Symptoms include fatigue, sleepiness, headaches and nausea. CNS depression has been reported in chronic abusers exposed to high levels of toluene. Chronic inhalation of toluene also causes irritation of the upper respiratory tract and eyes, sore throat, dizziness and headache. Studies report developmental effects, such as CNS dysfunction, attention deficit and minor craniofacial and limb anomalies, in the children of pregnant women exposed to toluene or mixed solvents by inhalation. Reproductive effects have also been noted.

Rosemary Peters | THE BEACON

14

April 19, 2012

EMISSIONS: North Portland’s air includes toxicity from neurotoxin Continued from page 11 are expelling considerable levels of carcinogens, neurotoxins and emissions that increase a person’s risk of respiratory problems.

Over 328,000 pounds of various toxins were emitted by companies in the North Portland neighborhood in that time.

However, it should be noted that all companies in the 97203 and 97217 area codes reported to the EPA that their estimated emissions were disposed of on-site.

THE SMOKESTACK EFFECT To track locations nationwide

Rosemary Peters Editor in chief peters12@up.edu

where dangers from air pollutants appear greatest, USA Today worked with researchers from the University of MassachusettsAmherst’s Political Economy Research Institute and used an EPA mathematical model called RiskScreening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) and emissions data from 2005 to create “The Smokestack Effect,” a measure of air toxicity in relation to public and private schools across America.

“The worst ranking schools were in North Portland,” Mary Peveto, a co-founder of Neighbors for Clean Air, a nonprofit organization that fights for reducing industrial pollution, said.

Schools in North Portland

ranked in the 1st through 5th percentiles, making their air some of the most toxic in the nation.

University of Portland does not appear on USA Today’s Smokestack Effect, but the public school nearest UP, Astor Elementary School on Yale Street and Van Houten Avenue, is ranked in the 5th percentile nationally. Only 5,493 of the 127,809 schools included in the model had worse air, according to the 2005 NATA data from the EPA. According to USA Today’s model, manganese and manganese compounds, a neurotoxin, account for 85 percent of overall toxicity at Astor Elementary.

The study showed pollut-

ers most responsible for Astor Elementary’s toxicity include Columbia Steel Casting Co Inc., Oregon Steel Mills Inc., Esco Corp, Bulk Transportation Portland Terminal and Crown Food Packaging.

WHAT IS BEING DONE? The state of pollution in Portland leaves many asking what is being done about the situation.

According to Armitage, after spending a few years defining the air pollution problem and its sources, in August 2009, the DEQ convened the Portland Air Toxics

Make best practices standard practices

Solutions Advisory Committee.

The purpose of the committee is to recommend strategies for an air toxics reduction plan.

“We worked with the committee to see what would be feasible for reduction. We prioritized key categories and key recommendations for each category,” Armitage said. “We’re moving ahead in that way, but it’s very slow and we are very resource challenged.”

In May, the DEQ will start a public comment period to collect input from Oregonians about its plans, which may consist of regulatory and voluntary measures to reduce the air toxics causing the most health risk in the Portland region.

North Portland Air Quality joins Neighbors for Clean Air to fight for emission reduction

Across the Willamette River, Mary Peveto decided to take matters into her hands when she realized how much pollution was in the air her children were breathing at Chapman Elementary, in Northwest Portland.

Chapman was ranked in the second percentile in the USA Today study, with only 1,274 schools in the nation having worse air.

“Basically all of Portland schools are ranked no better than the worst 30 percent of the nation,” Peveto said. “You begin to realize this should be dealt with.”

In 2009, Peveto co-founded Neighbors for Clean Air, a nonprofit organization that fights for reducing industrial pollution.

“If you reside right next to that industry, chances are they are 95 percent of your pie,” Peveto said.

“We need to have our industrial neighbors work harder on reducing their emissions.”

After pushing hard for emission reduction from industry in the Northwest Portland area, Peveto entered into a “good neighbor agreement” in mid-March with Esco, which agreed to cut its air pollution by an estimated 20 percent. Esco, a Northwest Portland company that converts scrap steel into parts for construction, mining and logging, emitted over 21,000 pounds of air pollutants including large amounts of the neurotoxins phenol and manganese in 2010, according to the EPA’s TRI report.

Peveto sees the agreement with Esco as a step in the right direction, but she is not done yet.

According to Peveto, a big part of the air pollution problem is that old facilities have high emissions limits since their emission levels were capped at their emissions levels from the 1970’s.

“It is a systemic problem of how we regulate air pollution that was statewide. It wasn’t something unique to one neighborhood,” Peveto said. “And so, if you are going to get progress on this, you can’t ask them to change the rules for one facility. They have to have a statewide rule change to address this problem.”

A growing number of North

Portland residents agree with Peveto and are following in her footsteps.

University Park Neighborhood resident Stacey Schroeder helped found the North Portland Air Quality group. She and her neighbors are concerned about paint fumes they believe to be coming from Daimler Trucks North America, a company with a high emission cap since they are protected under a grandfather clause.

“Their PSEL (Plant Site Emissions Limits) were concocted with a baseline that was established in 1978 or 1979,” Peveto said. “That is why the neighbors are suffering so much. They could add probably two to three more (work) shifts before they come close to those limits.”

Dave Kauth of the DEQ, the permit writer for Daimler’s permit, says that Daimler is not breaking any law or emitting over its limit, but acknowledges it has a high emission limit.

“It’s time to make best practices become standard practices.

This is truly going to make us the city of the future if we can get this right.”

Quality (DEQ). Our manufacturing process emissions are well below permitted levels.”

However, concerned citizens like Schroeder are not satisfied, as she smells the paint fumes frequently during the day and night.

“It’s an overwhelming smell of paint fumes … I’ve felt high from the paint fumes,” Schroeder said.

“I don’t think my kids should be smelling it, I don’t think that anyone should be smelling it.”

Schroeder and fellow members of the North Portland Air Quality group want from Daimler a similar outcome that Peveto achieved with Esco.

“We’d like them to be good neighbors since we’re packed into this little city with growth boundaries,” Schroeder said.

According to Rook, the University has received complaints about various smells on campus for at least the eight years he has been here.

Rook said there was a concern a few years back that the smells had been coming from a leaky gas line on campus. However, after what he called a “wild goose chase,” the University concluded they were not responsible for the smells people were experiencing.

“In the last year, we have experienced a number of cases where people have experienced a strong natural gas and sulfur smell,” Rook said. “Fifteen to 20

came from spectators at a soccer game.”

Since September, Rook has received 19 official odor complaints, primarily from library staffers.

Rook has had contact with Peveto, Schroeder and other neighborhood residents to see what can be done.

“How do you make a formal complaint? You need data,” Rook said. “Compiling all of that information allows you to build a better case.”

Schroeder and Peveto agree that more data is needed.

“What you have to create first and foremost is a critical mass,” Peveto said.

According to Peveto, there are several ways for citizens to create this critical mass. She encourages people to visit the Neighbors for Clean Air website (whatsinourair. org) every time they smell something out of the ordinary. The location of the smell can then be mapped on the group’s homepage and simultaneously an official complaint will be sent to the DEQ. Additionally, Peveto and the North Portland Air Quality group

PETITION

http://www.change.org/petitions/the-governor-of-or-stoptoxic-emissions-from-industrial-sources

have a petition calling for the end of grandfather clauses and having the companies commit to pollution reduction programs. The groups plan to present the signatures to Oregon State Legislature at the end of May to rally for legislative support.

Peveto also encourages UP students to visit or volunteer at the Earth Day event on April 22 at PCC’s Cascade Campus.

“It’s time to make best practices become standard practices,” Peveto said. “This is truly going to make us the city of the future if we can get this right.”

Internship opportunities

1. Website development provide support for website by working directly with website development agency (The Swift Collective). Student would gain exposure to environmental grassroots advocacy, exposure to policy development and technical website development work experience with a leading agency with clients like NIKE. 2. Social media development - Neighbors for Clean Air seeks an intern to execute communication strategy through Twitter, Facebook and further blog development.

Visit whatsinourair.org for more information.

Mary Peveto Neighbors for Clean Air Co-founder

“They have plant site emissions limits around 470 tons,” Kauth said.

In November, Schroeder and 17 people from the neighborhood, including UP’s Environmental Safety Officer Jeff Rook, met with three DEQ agents, an Oregon Health Authority member and three Daimler representatives on Daimler’s property to discuss the issue.

According to a statement from Daimler representative Amy Sills, “Our Western Star Truck Manufacturing plant on Swan Island is in full compliance with the emissions standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Oregon Department of Environmental

Photo coutesy of inautonews.com

In October 2011, Daimler added a second shift to its Portland truck manufacturing plant to assist in the process of making trucks like the one pictured above. This second shift will create approximately 350 new jobs at the facility by the end of 2012. About 330 of these jobs will be for shop employees.