Uroboros Glass, one of two Portland factories that found themselves subject to new environmental regulations earlier this year after it became clear they were emitting carcinogens, will close in 2017. The North Portland factory made that announcement today, linking to this statement via its Facebook page. “It will be yet another shock in a tumultuous […]
Bio Hazard
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Contrary to Bullseye Glass’s Claims, a New State Report Suggests the Company’s Been Releasing Harmful Chromium
Michelle Mitchell THE BAD NEWS, according to the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ): melt the relatively benign metal trivalent chromium (Cr III) in a glass furnace, and 98.4 percent of what’s not captured in the glass emerges as a fierce carcinogen, hexavalent chromium (Cr VI or hex-chrome). The worse news: a properly functioning baghouse […]
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Everyone’s Mad About the EPA’s River Cleanup Plan, So the Agency’s Offering More Time To Complain.
It’s been a little more than two weeks since the US Environmental Protection Agency unveiled its proposal for cleaning up the toxic Portland Harbor, and all anyone can seem to agree on is that the plan is flawed. Environmental advocates were first to that party, bemoaning the fact that the $746-811 million cleanup plan would […]
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Feds Blame the Mosier Oil Train Derailment Union Pacific’s “Failure” to Maintain Track
Union Pacific railroad’s “failure to maintain its track and track equipment” caused the June 3 oil train derailment that sent fireballs into the sky near Mosier and oil into the Columbia River, a federal agency has concluded. In a preliminary report [PDF] issued by the Federal Railroad Administration this morning, investigators have confirmed that the […]
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Portland Parks and Recreation Found High Lead Levels in the Water At Three of Four Facilities it Just Tested
Samples taken from water fixtures at three Portland Parks and Recreation facilities turned up elevated lead levels in 17 instances, the bureau revealed today, nearly a week after learning the results. The Parks Bureau says five samples (out of 76) taken at the Portland Children’s Museum exceeded 20 parts per billion for lead, the threshold […]
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The EPA Now Says Cleaning Up the Portland Harbor Will Cost $746 Million. Can We Trust That?
THERE AREN’T a great many instances where a $746 million price tag looks like a bargain. But last week, when the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) slapped that number on a long-awaited proposal for cleaning up Portland’s toxic, fish-contaminating harbor, it had all the trappings of a door-buster special. Consider: The City of Portland had […]
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Here’s Sen. Ron Wyden Inveighing Against Oil Trains in the Columbia River Gorge
As you’d expect of the state’s senior senator, Ron Wyden took to the floor of the US Senate earlier today to rail (PUN) against the recent Union Pacific oil train explosion near Mosier, and call on his colleagues to take steps to make oil transport safer. Wyden largely focused on pushing a bill he introduced […]
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Bullseye Glass Has Finally Reached an Agreement With the State. It’s On A Pretty Short Leash.
It’s been a little more than four months since Portland citizens learned Southeast Portland’s Bullseye Glass has been pouring harmful compounds into the city’s air for decades. It’s been almost two months since state regulators learned they should have been more tightly regulating the company for years. And today, just two days before an unprecedented […]
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Trains Are Moving Through Mosier Again—Against the City’s Wishes
The citizens of Mosier don’t have a working sewer system, following Friday’s oil train explosion in the midst of the small Columbia River Gorge city. They’re unsure if the water they’re drinking is safe, which has prompted officials to issue a boil order. And as of Sunday, something around 100 people still weren’t able to […]
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The Dirty Seven: Forest Service Moss Data Identifies Portland’s Top Spots for Multiple Heavy-Metal Exposure
The United States Forest Service is slated to release data next week that provide a fuller picture of the heavy-metal pollution captured by moss it collected in December 2013. It’s the same moss data that caused a furor in February, after it helped state officials unearth alarming air toxic levels near Bullseye Glass, findings first […]
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An Oil Train is On Fire in the Columbia River Gorge. Opponents Have Long Warned That Would Happen
Columbia Riverkeeper For a long time now, activists who oppose oil trains that snake through Oregon have made a familiar argument. As Michael Lang, conservation director at Friends of the Columbia Gorge, told the Mercury late last year: “These trains go through small towns along the gorge. They pass by schools, daycares, businesses, and bring […]
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Gov. Kate Brown Has Renewed a Cease-and-Desist Order on Bullseye Glass
The high-wire negotiations between Gov. Kate Brown and Bullseye Glass have stalled. Leah Feldon, a special assistant to Oregon Department of Environment Quality (DEQ) Director Pete Shepherd, told the Mercury a short time ago, “Right now I can confirm that we did not reach an agreement today and that there won’t be an agreement reached […]