Posts Categorized: ESCO

ESCO Neighborhood Advisory Committee Approves Chapman Air Monitoring Plan

Posted by & filed under ESCO, Good Neighbor Agreement.

In a vote of 5-1, ESCO Neighborhood Advisory Committee members approved the Chapman monitoring plan at the last meeting held October 27th.  This project was a condition of the Good Neighbor Agreement (GNA) signed in 2011 with ESCO. The company committed  to providing $25,000 to monitor for metals at Chapman School. This particular GNA item… Read more »

Revisiting The Smokestack Effect

Posted by & filed under air toxics, Citizen's Right-to-know, environmental justice, EPA NATA, ESCO, Health Benchmarks, hotspots, industrial sanctuary, manganese, Toxic Hot Spots, TRI, USA Today.

In March 2009, I stumbled across a report on the internet published by USA Today called the Smokestack Effect.  It was a ground breaking study that cross-referenced the federal Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) data with school sitings, ranking the schools at greatest risk of cancer and non-cancer health effects due to air toxic exposures.  The… Read more »

ESCO independent audit gets underway

Posted by & filed under air toxics, DEQ, ESCO, Good Neighbor Agreement.

Mr. Jim Karas and his colleague Mr. Fred Tanaka spent three days in Portland last week.  Their time was primarily spent at  ESCO to tour the facility and observe operations. Neighborhood representatives were given the opportunity to meet with Mr. Karas and Mr. Tanaka prior to their visit to ESCO Monday morning at DEQ headquarters. … Read more »

Good Neighbor Agreement

Posted by & filed under air toxics, citizen engagement, Citizen's Right-to-know, City of Portland, DEQ, environmental justice, Environmental Quality Commission, ESCO, industrial sanctuary, Mayor Adams, right to know, Title V air permit, Toxic Hot Spots, transparency.

Air pollution problems are inherently local, the worst of them manifesting in “Toxic Hot Spots.” Yet this is specifically the area where the Clean Air Act and the state regulatory framework has failed to protect citizens. If direct citizen negotiation is still considered the most effective means of addressing local toxic hot spots, citizens need stronger public advocates to work on their behalf. Portland should look to the spirit of what the Houston Mayor did, which was to say, the city is the best entity to look out for the equitable protection of all its citizens and should be creative in its ideas of how to engage on the issue.

Thanksgiving Meditation

Posted by & filed under air toxics, Chris King Components, DEQ, ESCO, Lakota, NW Examiner, PBT, Sustainability, Thanksgiving.

Ever since my niece was born, half into our family of Minnesota Catholics of European descent and half into the Lakota nation, I have had to reconsider much of the world I take for granted. Some of those things are in the details, in insidious stereotypes perpetuated by sport team mascots and Peter Pan. Others… Read more »