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A Breath Of Fresh Air: Eugene's Bold Step Towards Pollution Control

Arjorie Arberry-Baribeault, West Eugene Community Organizer for Beyond Toxics.

On Monday, October 23rd, the Eugene City Council voted unanimously to adopt the concept of Public Health Protection Zoning, what we have been calling a Public Health Overlay Zone! The City Manager will next draft an ordinance to include public health requirements in Eugene’s zoning laws. This represents a historic win for environmental justice, as we will be the first city in Oregon to adopt this innovative concept!

I moved to west Eugene as a teenager in the ‘90s and later raised three children there.
While raising my children in west Eugene, we spent plenty of time in parks or swimming in the neighborhood pool. Our family lived in the Bethel School District where we embraced playing outdoors, engaged in team sports and enjoyed time in public spaces with friends and family. I tried to take my children to the park every day, rain or shine.

We felt safe and at home in west Eugene. Plus it was affordable in those days! Historically, housing tended to be less expensive in this community, which was crucial to our family, as it is to other low income, working class families. We felt a sense of security and belonging in the neighborhood; we never suspected the dangers that surrounded us or the threats of industrial pollution that would impact my family forever.

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Zion and Arjorie

In the heart of Bethel, over 30 industrial facilities loom over the landscape, including wood preservation companies spewing dangerous air toxins regularly. Combined with the ceaseless traffic on 3 busy highways, our community is constantly inundated with diesel emissions on top of the industrial air pollutants. For years we breathed in air laden with dangerous industrial pollutants.

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Polluting factories are a common sight near residential areas of West Eugene.

We were surrounded by industrial sources of pollution, but I had always thought, ‘they’re just doing business, right?’ Living so close to industry, it never bothered us that our homes were located near smokestacks that emitted clouds of "smoke." What they were releasing was not necessarily our concern. At the time I told myself things like “Surely, we wouldn't be subjected to anything that could hurt us”. And "Certainly, the city is aware of what can happen when factories are allowed to operate near homes, schools, parks and other community spaces." We had no clue that behind those innocent-looking smoke-stacks lay something more sinister than we ever dared to imagine.

While it was a blow to learn just how naive it was to believe that our city had strong public health regulations in place, my faith in society’s ability to protect public health from harm was completely shattered the day my family heard the doctor’s diagnosis: ‘Zion has Hodgkin’s Lymphoma’. I have shared my story of being a mother of a childhood cancer survivor before, but the impact of her battle and survival from illness changed my life. And, I believe, her difficult journey left a lasting impression on the power of community advocacy. With our victory from the Eugene City Council’s October vote*, my faith in the power of community action has been renewed and my hope for a better future restored! The struggles of folks in this neighborhood, who have been made vulnerable and burdened with sickness and in some cases death of loved ones, have finally been recognized as a cause for concern by the powers that be!

This new zoning ordinance will, potentially, take effect citywide in order to help protect the community from the dangers of industrial pollution in our neighborhoods. One of the ways this concept will improve the safety of our neighborhoods will be to create a quarter-mile buffer between industrial facilities and residential, park, and school zones. This is a brand new concept and it will take time to work out the details, but it represents an extraordinary moment in west Eugene’s history. This is a big victory for the environmental justice movement!

Thank you to all who have supported making history by your compelling testimonies and hard work to bring this into fruition. Congratulations, Eugene!

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~  Arjorie Arberry-Baribeault, West Eugene Community Organizer

For more about Arjorie's journey, see the interactive presentation, "Beautician Turned Environmentalist" on ArcGIS's StoryMap

Pump to Progress: Ending the Legacy of Gas Station Contamination

Underground petroleum contamination is a widespread problem that drains public resources and has been routinely mismanaged to the detriment of public safety and environmental integrity. The first of many steps that should be taken to address this problem is banning the construction of new gas stations.

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It’s National Public Health Week. Let’s tackle toxic chemicals!

Every child deserves a safe environment to grow in that allows them to become strong and healthy and develop to their full potential. During National Public Health Week, it's important to draw attention to the health impacts and risks from toxic chemicals in products and the places where children live, learn and play. It is now estimated that 10 million synthetic chemicals are added to the marketplace every year. They range from the chemicals in plastic toys, pesticides on our lawns and school grounds, and harmful additives in our personal care products that go directly onto our skin and are absorbed into our organs.

These chemicals can cause immediate and long-term harm. Toxic chemicals are linked to neurological damage which can leave a child with learning disabilities. Over time, chemicals can lead to a wide range of health problems from endocrine and reproductive disruption to cancer. Exposure to harmful chemicals in consumer products and the environment disproportionately impact communities of color and lower income communities that are more often exposed to cumulative toxins. It is often the case that cheaper and deadlier products are marketed to the most vulnerable members of our communities.

What is Oregon doing to address toxic chemicals?
Thankfully, there are three key bills addressing toxic chemicals this 2023 Session being led by Oregon Environmental Council and Beyond Toxics and their partners. We continue to advocate for and defend these bills from staunch opposition from the chemical and pesticide industry and demand that toxics be prioritized by our lawmakers.

This year, National Public Health Week coincides with an important deadline in Oregon’s legislative session, and thus determines what health-protective policies will, or will not, move forward. On April 4th, every bill currently being considered by the Oregon legislature must have been voted out of its first chamber committee.

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What do these bills do, and what is their current status?

1) Toxic Free Schools (SB 426)

Oregon school districts and regulatory agencies currently lack funding, coordination and resources needed to implement safer pesticide use practices. As a result, unintentional yet illegal pesticide uses are occurring at Oregon schools. SB 426 will fix a 14-year unfunded mandate for schools and create a path towards modernized record keeping and safer choices for pest control under the Healthy and Safe Schools Act.

The Toxic Free Schools Act will:

  • End a 14-year unfunded mandate by providing resources and technological assistance to school districts to reduce harmful pesticide use.

  • Modernize pesticide record-keeping processes and increase transparency for communities.

SB 426 was voted out of the Senate Education Committee on March 30th and has been referred to the Joint Ways and Means Committee to address its fiscal impact.

Read more about Toxic Free Schools

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2) Toxic Free Cosmetics (SB 546)

People assume personal and beauty products (collectively called “cosmetics”) are safe. But it is estimated there are over 10,000 chemicals in the beauty market today, and account for a $100 billion beauty industry. The Federal Food, Drug and Cosmetics Act (FDCA) has only restricted 11 chemicals since 1938, while the European Union has banned over 1800 chemicals.

Through SB 546, Oregon can require the public disclosure of all chemical ingredients on a company’s product webpage. Doing so is an accessible way for consumers to make educated purchasing decisions. Additionally, it will ban the sale of the worst chemicals in cosmetics and personal care products like many other states have.

SB 546 passed out of the Senate Energy and Environment Committee on March 28th, unanimously and bipartisan, and has been referred to the Joint Ways and Means Committee to address its fiscal impact.

Read more about Toxic Free Cosmetics.

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Photo courtesy of Tanaphong Toochinda

3) Toxic Free Kids Modernization Act (HB 3043)

Thousands of chemicals lurk in products our kids use every day, and children are far more vulnerable to toxic chemicals than adults. HB 3043 builds on the success of Oregon’s 2015 Toxic Free Kids Act by strengthening protections for children’s health and streamlining business reporting requirements.

A modernized Toxic Free Kids Act will:

  • Modernize Oregon Health Authority’s ability to regulate classes of chemicals instead of regulating them one-by-one.

  • Remove limits on designating high priority chemicals of concern for children's health.

  • Make it easier for consumers to avoid products containing toxics by adding brand name and model to reporting requirements.

  • Streamline manufacturer reporting requirements and reduce program costs by aligning reporting dates with Washington – a state we share a lab and enforcement capabilities with.

HB 3043 passed out of the House Committee on Climate and Energy on March 15th, also unanimously and bipartisan, and subsequently passed the full House 42-14 also on a bipartisan vote, on March 22nd. It heads to the Senate Energy and Environment Committee as its second chamber.

What Can you do?
In your day-to-day life, keep in mind ways that you can buy toxics-free or organic items to reduce your risk of chemical and pesticide exposure. When possible, consider reducing your use of cosmetics or products if you’re sensitive to chemicals. Be sure to wash hands and remove your shoes after playing on school fields.

In addition, contact legislators and urge them to act NOW to regulate toxic chemicals and protect public health for Oregonians. Let them know we are depending on them to help keep our families safe from harmful chemicals and pesticides at home and at school.

Authors:
Jamie Pang, Environmental Health Program Director, Oregon Environmental Council
Lisa Arkin, Executive Director, Beyond Toxics

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