Stories From Our Communities
Kyle's story
When Kyle moved to his west Eugene home, he knew he was looking for a place to bring his mom. She had COPD and other health issues, so Kyle knew he wanted to move her to Eugene from Chicago to care for her.
What he didn’t know was that J.H. Baxter, which operated just across Roosevelt Boulevard from his home, was contaminating the air and soil around his home. He didn’t know about the noxious creosote smell and harmful chemicals used in its wood treatment process.
He doesn’t know, still, if the pollution caused his mother’s health to decline quickly after moving there. Her bedroom was nearest J.H. Baxter, in an older home with old windows and poor weatherization. It was seemingly impossible to keep out toxic smells and pollutants from across the street. Kyle's mom was using a prescribed oxygen tank, and quickly needed more and more oxygen while living there, exceeding levels that standard oxygen tanks can typically support. She passed away in 2021.
“Some people would say that’s the progression of the disease,” Kyle said, but wondered aloud if the toxic air had something to do with it. “I’ll never know, but it’ll always weigh heavily on me.”
Moving Forward
There are many unknowns that have arisen for members of the Bethel community since J.H. Baxter’s closure nearly two years ago.
Kyle's yard is slated for soil remediation after testing for high levels of dioxin contamination. The remediation, which was slated for this fall, is on hold yet again until at least March. For Kyle, this means another season lost of establishing groundcover, preparing to grow tomatoes or replanting trees and rose bushes. Tree removal began in October but has halted. The landscape of his neighborhood has changed. His yard now feels exposed to traffic and a popular bike path.
“I’ve had to roll with the punches,” Kyle said. “It's very unfortunate because it put our life at a standstill two years in a row now."
While J.H. Baxter has continued to show a lack of accountability for its role, Kyle said he's also frustrated by the slow process of soil testing and cleanup. He said it feels like there's nothing he can do but wait.
How We Can Help
Beyond Toxics works at the grassroots level with community members to ensure they are protected from egregious polluters now and in the future. One way we’ve done this is by providing free air purifiers to Bethel residents to mitigate harms of indoor air pollution, especially during soil remediation. Click here to read more.
“It was nice to see an immediate impact,” Kyle said. “When I wasn’t able to make it to the park (to pick up an air purifier), I went into the office where I could really see the passion on the walls, in the art. A nonprofit is one of the best ways I can see to get people of like minds that can really work together to bring a positive change in the world together.”
Beyond Toxics will continue to advocate for West Eugene residents to ensure no more major industrial polluters are able to set up shop near homes, schools and parks. In addition, we are working with the city to implement public health standards into industrial zoning citywide to safeguard families from experiencing the environmental harms like that of J.H. Baxter again. Click here to learn more about our public health standards work.
