OwensBrockwayPollutionPermit_DEQMeeting
Owens-Brockway at 9710 NE Glass Plant Road, Portland, OR 97220 releases at least 300 pounds of Lead into the air every year, and released 213 pounds of Chromium in 2016. The company has been fined for sloppy hazardous wast management practices. The facility operates two burners and only one has a fabric filtering device. On Monday, September 10 2018, a fire at the facility resulted in a loss of power. During the power outage, process water flooded the basement and mixed with some oil. Some of the oily water discharged to the stormwater system and made it to Johnson Lake.
The facility is currently up for a renewal of their Title V permit, and Oregon DEQ wants your input. Please attend this meeting at NAYA Family Center, 5135 NE Columbia Blvd., Portland, OR. 97218, on Wednesday, September 19, 2018 at 6:30 pm.
Publlc comments can be made at this meeting, or you can submit comments written by 10/26/2018 (CAAT got an extension) to:
Edith McMorrine
AQ Permit Coordinator
700 NE Multnomah St. Suite 600
Portland, OR 97232
503-229-6945 nwraqpermits@deq.state.or.us
Here are some Talking Points:
This meeting will take place on Wednesday September 19, 2018 at NAYA Family Center, 5135 NE Columbia Blvd, Portland, OR. 97218. The meeting will start at 6:30 pm.
Owens-Brockway Glass Container, Inc., a subsidiary of Owens-Illinois (O-I), is located at 9710 NE Glass Plant Road, Portland, OR 97220. Owens-Brockway is a Title V (Title 5) polluter. As such, they are at the highest regulatory level, primarily because of their release of Criteria Pollutants such as Lead and Sulfur Dioxide.
1: Owens-Brockway released 300 pounds of ambient (airborne) Lead in 2016.
Lead can accumulate in the body, particularly in bones. Lead can cause brain damage, reproductive problems, high-blood pressure, kidney disease, and nervous disorders.
2: Owens-Brockway released 213 pounds of Chromium in 2016. Chromium has different forms, and there are many negative health effects associated with chromium exposure, including asthma and chronic bronchitis. Chromium6 is a carcinogen.
3: There are three Public Schools within one mile of the Owens-Brockway facility:
◆ Prescott St. Elementary in Parkrose School District
◆ Helensview Alternative High School, Multnomah Education Service District
◆ Sacajawea Headstart, Portland Public Schools
The children, teachers, education workers, and para-educators who attend and work at these schools deserve better protection from industrial pollutants.
4: Owens-Brockway currently only uses one fabric filter on one of their burners. They should be using the Best Available Control Technology (BACT) to filter out dangerous pollutants, such as a wet-bag filtering unit, on all of their polluting burners.
5: Owens-Brockway has been fined by DEQ this year for shoddy hazardous waste control. Where did that hazardous waste end up? Did it go into Johnson Lake, just north of Owens-Brockway, and then into the Columbia Slough?
6: Cleaner Air Oregon (CAO) is still being worked on. It is wrong to permit a Title V industrial polluter before CAO is on the books.
7: Other issues:
➢ Gardening/Farming and metal contamination;
➢ Diminished Property Values
➢ Environmental Justice (Cully has many different and diverse populations, and income levels. Polluting facilities are often located in these types of neighborhoods, by design, because of prior or current racist practices);
➢ The new Thomas Cully Park, that the city and county spent a whole bunch of money cleaning up, is very close to the pollution source, Owens-Brockway.