Portland Roots

Some recent air quality concerns have arisen with residents of Northwest Portland.  USA Today ran a report in December of 2008 called “The Smokestack Effect” which detailed and rated the worst schools in America as far as environmental air quality.  Normally you don’t associate Portland with dirty air, but it seems that Chapman Elementary is among the worst 2% of schools for air quality because of it’s close proximity to ESCO Corp in NW (a metals manufacturer).  Residents of the area have also been concerned for years about the light black dust that settles on their cars, lawns, and homes.  The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is a reactionary organization that has essentially refused to acknowledge the problem, or even their responsibility in the matter.  Residents have complained that DEQ is esentially useless and does not want to help.  With ESCO’s DEQ air quality permit up for renewal, the push is on from residents who would like more oversight and monitoring of the air quality around the factory.  Most residents would be happy with air quality monitoring, and most don’t really want the factory shut down as it provides donations and jobs to the local community and economy.  Jump over to Neighborhood Notes for more details, or USA Today for their report on “The Smokestack Effect”.