More than two weeks after the Mercury reported alarming arsenic and cadmium levels in air around a Southeast Portland glass factory, the heads of the city and county have issued their first public statement about the unfolding controversy.
Mayor Charlie Hales and Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury have often deferred to state environmental regulators since the readings were disclosed February 3. But as questions over what chemicals Bullseye Glass and North Portland factory Uroboros Glass have emitted grow more persistent—and statewide and national politicians speak out on the issue—Kafoury and Hales are now taking those same regulators to task.
In a letter to Gov. Kate Brown today, the pair lights into the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality for what they call “inaction” in the face of evidence Portland’s air quality hasn’t been good for years. Hales and Kafoury say they’re considering taking air quality regulation into their own hands.
“In 2011 Multnomah County called on the state to adopt rules that would protect the public from area source polluters, but our calls for regulation were met with inaction,” the letter says. “Should this inaction persist at the state level, it is our intent to explore options to establish a local Portland metropolitan-area regional air pollution authority…”
Hales and Kafoury don’t offer specifics (here’s the law that would allow such an authority) instead calling on Brown to take a number of steps. Those are:
•Create rules to stop glass factories from emitting harmful chemicals. DEQ has said Bullseye and Uroboros are in compliance with their emissions permits, even as they disgorge tons of toxic substances. “The recent air monitoring data collected by DEQ as well as past air toxics data from the Portland region clearly meet the threshold for DEQ action, the letter says. “In addition to rulemaking, DEQ also has broad authority to implement strategies to reduce sources of air toxics.”
•Revise Portland Air Toxics Solutions, a DEQ project aimed at curbing air pollutin in the Portland metro region. Hales and Kafoury are asking DEQ to force emissions reductions as part of that plan. Mandatory reductions aren’t currently included, the letter says.
•Crack down on diesel throughout Oregon. Particularly diesel particulate matter (PM) that comes from trains. “Diesel PM alone contributes to over 400 premature deaths and costs the Oregon economy $3.5 billion every year, and disproportionately affects communities of color,” the letter says.
“Immediately adjacent to both glass manufacturing facilities, highlighted in recent media reports, are rail yards that contribute thousands of tons of diesel PM annually, further compounding the environmental nightmare in these areas.”
•Better fund air monitoring.
•Give a deadline for addressing air pollution.
Here’s the entire letter.
I asked Hales this evening why we hadn’t heard more from him about the air pollution in the past two weeks, and he assured that his staff had been involved in the issue. “The first day I was on it,” he said. “This is happening in my city.”
Hales also said he hadn’t personally spoken with Brown about the matter, or the glass companies in question, or the DEQ, or other officials.
Update, 3 pm Friday: Kafoury points out that, unlike Hales, she’s been speaking with state officials regarding the air quality revelations.
“I have been in constant contact with everybody,” she says. “We have done a yeoman’s job.”
At least the glass companies stopped the worst of it, while Precision Castparts Corp is still spewing
Had either company have been informed at any point during any one of their multi per year visits from DEQ in their 40+ year tenure that their emissions were as harmful as is now being speculated they’d both have installed filtration systems long ago. It was sprung on them suddenly, they had to cut 50% production immediately and have both their home communities and much of the glass community turned against them through all this hype. They’ve been labeled as selfish corporate profiteers by the community through the media and DEQ’s haphazard handling of the situation. It’s absolutely heartbreaking to see this happen to a small family run business who has always prided themselves in seeking the greenest path to create beautiful glass for artists to use. A company who qualified as a ‘Green Company’ by the City of Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability for 2011, and earned Portland’s Sustainability at Work Silver Certification for 2012! The DEQ and EPA ought to be the ones making this right, chipping in toward filtration and holding back community backlash at least until their test results are in. It’s still yet to be proven that Uroboros (the much smaller manufacturer) was the cause of these carcinogens as they don’t use arsenic and use only encapsulated cadmium, Additionally, being located in an industrial alley, literally the name of the alley they are located in, surrounded by industrial scale manufacturers of all kinds. Sorry so long, I could literally go on endlessly with my dismay at this situation.
Funny, old Portland seems to be being destroyed from within. I would rather work with manufacturers, and deal with pollution-lite than see these amazing industries be lost.