West Eugene Community Health
Polluting industries form a semi-circle around homes, schools and parks in West Eugene, causing disproportionate health impacts.
Projects
In West Eugene, 550,000 pounds of toxic emissions were released in 2019. This pollution - emitted in the 97402 zip code area - accounted for 96% of all the emissions released in the City of Eugene that year, and every year. Polluted air in West Eugene persists due to outdated zoning laws, housing built near pollution and weak air regulations. Air pollution is linked to heart ailments, lung disease, asthma attacks, cancer, and an overall reduction in life expectancy. These conditions have become the lived experience of the West Eugene community.
URGENT soil removal ordered @ homes near JH Baxter plant
URGENT: Several residential properties near the J.H. Baxter & Co. plant in west Eugene urgently need contaminated soil to be removed, the Department of Environmental Quality announced. The DEQ said soil samples in west Eugene show high levels of dioxins, a class of toxic compounds generated during some industrial processes. DEQ believes operations at the wood treatment company J.H. Baxter & Co., a longtime source of pollution, are responsible for the contamination.
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Beautician Turned Environmentalist: Arjorie's Story
Arjorie Arberry-Baribeault never envisioned herself on the front lines of the fight for clean air in West Eugene, but when her thirteen year-old daughter was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, she started asking questions. Arjorie’s search for answers led her to Beyond Toxics. Learn more.
See the interactive presentation, "Beautician Turned Environmentalist" on ArcGIS's StoryMap->>
Air Pollution Stories
Share Your Pollution Story
Are you living in the West Eugene area near one of several polluting factories? You can make a difference in your community by sharing your pollution story with us today!
Victories
- Initiated the Clear Lake Overlay Zone, a model local land use law that lifts up environmental justice, climate protection, and places restrictions on new heavy industry.
- Played a pivotal role in the adoption of Oregon’s Cleaner Air Oregon air quality regulations.
- Led the way to stop legislation seeking to give tax credits to carbon polluters and waste incinerators.
- Introduced toxics emissions reporting requirements that were adopted by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality.
- Successfully filed a complaint under the US EPA Civil Rights Office that required the local air regulatory agency to adopt environmental justice practices.
- Filed complaints that forced industrial polluters to clean up hazardous waste dump sites, stop surface water pollution and mitigate vapors from groundwater plumes.
