Stories From Our Communities
Andrea's Story
When Andrea moved into her West Eugene home in 2010, she wasn’t aware of the threat of industrial pollution looming in the neighborhood. She loves her family’s home and appreciates the diversity among their neighbors.
“We like it here,” she said, “But the problem with pollution has been a real detriment.”
She and her neighbors filed complaints with local agencies regarding horrible fumes from industrial facilities. When it felt like no one was listening, they wanted to give up.
“It was really discouraging,” said Andrea. “We didn’t have the means to just up and move, so it was tough.”
About a year ago, Andrea connected with Beyond Toxics and soon learned that we never give up. We worked relentlessly to shut down the wood treatment facility J.H. Baxter. Finally, in January 2022, the polluter was found to be the source of severe dioxin contamination and J.H. Baxter closed…and the community finally got the clean air it needed. But families in the Bethel area are still experiencing the lingering effects of industrial air and soil pollution on their health and wellbeing.
Though the plant closed, Andrea still smells horrible odors in the neighborhood from other polluters. Now, she’s concerned about the level of dioxins in the soil as well.
“We haven’t had the opportunity to have our yard tested, and gardening is a very big part of our lives,” Andrea said. “We eat the food from our yard and like to spend time outside so the issue with dioxins is very concerning.”
Companies like J.H. Baxter must be held accountable for the harm they create in the cities where they operate. Beyond Toxics is working to stop polluters that operate at the expense of the public good for decades and then close without consequence. Public health should be our priority.
“In the future, my hope for this neighborhood is that we can get a public health overlay zone to protect myself, my family and our neighbors from future pollution and toxins in the neighborhood,” Andrea said. She added that she hopes more community involvement will lead to Bethel becoming “a neighborhood that is respected and supported instead of pushed to the side to make room for industry.”
Beyond Toxics has the drive and the knowledge to keep fighting for clean air and healthy families like Andrea’s. Click here to read about our public health standards work.
