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In 1999 Hyundai Semiconductor America (recently renamed Hynix) used 650 tons of sulfuric acid in Eugene -- almost 10 pounds of the liquid for every man woman and child in the city. Hyundai's use of sulfuric acid increased 41 percent in 1999, a leading factor in the corporation earning the distinction of the biggest increase in the use of toxic chemicals for any company in the city. Under Eugene's Toxics Right-to-Know Law, Hyundai reported using an extra 1.3 million pounds of toxic chemicals for a total of 4.3 million pounds. In addition to the increase in sulfuric acid, Hyundai used an extra 333,000 pounds of sodium hydroxide, another 150,000 pounds of isopropyl alcohol, 95,000 pounds more of hydrocloric acid, 208,000 pounds more of an ether compound, 127,000 pounds more of an acetate compound and 62,000 more pounds of hydrofluoric acid. In all, Hyundai -- a company hailed by boosters as a "clean" industry and given $50 million in tax breaks and subsidies -- reported using 48 different chemicals to etch and develop its chips in 1999. Even in tiny quantities, many of these chemicals can severely burn the skin, eyes or lungs or produce poisonous gases in a fire. For example, if evenly distributed, the 1.3 million pounds of sulfuric acid Hyundai used could make the air above Eugene hazardous to breathe to an altitude of 18,000 feet. Hyundai reported that it treated 56 percent of its chemicals on-site, shipped 25 percent out in its products, shipped 10 percent as waste and kept 4 percent as chemical inventory. The remaining 5 percent was consumed, flushed down the sewer (77,000 pounds), kept as waste on site, or discharged as air pollution (9,800 pounds). Hyundai isn't the largest user of toxic chemicals in Eugene. Forrest Paint in west Eugene used 5.2 million pounds of toxic chemicals in 1999, a 6 percent increase from the year before. Forrest Paint used 1.2 million pounds of toluene, a flammable solvent that, in tiny amounts, can cause cell mutations and brain, fetal, blood, liver and kidney damage. Forrest also used large quantities of other toxic solvents including xylene (871,000 pounds), acetone (526,000 pounds) and naptha (281,000 pounds). Forrest reported that 104,000 pounds of the chemicals (2 percent) became air pollution. About 97 percent of the chemicals were shipped in paint or stored on site. Although the solvents used by Forrest may pose the greatest toxic risk, the 170,000 pounds of propane and 125,000 pounds of butane used by the company in 1999 as propellant for making paint spray cans could pose the greatest catastrophic hazard. Forrest reported to the EPA recently that its "very unlikely" worst-case release scenario is the failure of one of its eight, 1,000-gallon storage tanks of the liquefied explosive gasses. Such a failure would result in a "vapor cloud explosion" that would exceed its site, the company said. The Willamette Valley Company's molded polyurethane factory in west Eugene came in third behind Hyundai for the greatest use of toxics. WVC used 2.7 million pounds of toxic chemicals in 1999, an 11-percent increase over the year before. The company reported 87 percent of the chemicals were shipped in products. Two polyurethane-making chemicals, methylene diphenyl diisocyanate and polymeric diphenylmethane diisocyanate, made up 2.5 million pounds of the WVC chemicals. The chemicals can cause skin rashes and, if breathed in, wheezing and lung damage. HMT, the west Eugene computer hard-drive maker, reported using 2.7 million pounds of toxic chemicals, a 2.3-millionpound drop from the previous year. HMT is closing its Eugene factory. HMT's drop in chemical use plus a 1.9-million-pound drop by Trus
Joist Macmillan's glued lumber mill contributed to an overall 3.1-million-pound drop
in chemical use in Eugene in 1999. Almost half of the 18 million pounds of chemicals
used by companies in the city ended up shipped in products. But 843,000 pounds were
shipped as waste, 682,000 were discharged into the air, 887,000 into the sewer, and
1,700 pounds released to surface water. Four or five years ago, with the dot-com economy in its fullest flower, gas and oil blissfully cheap, and electricity deregulation merely a weak and distant mutter, the Pacific Northwest's continental shelf was not on anyone's energy radar. Today the western U.S. is facing radically higher energy bills and the occupant of the White House hails from the nation's biggest oil and gas producing state. In this new context, development of untapped fossil fuel deposits in hitherto off-limits places may become more likely -- places like the northern Pacific coast, for instance. At first glance, Oregon and Washington would appear safe from offshore oil and gas development. So little exploration has been done that no one really knows how much oil or (more likely) gas is out there. The Marine Minerals Service (MMS), the arm of the Department of Interior responsible for administering offshore oil and gas leasing, estimates about 1 billion cubic feet (Tcf) of gas lie beneath Sale Area 132, which encompasses the waters of both states. This is about half the amount in the Santa Barbara-Ventura province, which the MMS estimates holds California's largest remaining undiscovered gas resources. Ironically, Sale Area 132 has remained untapped because the elder President Bush in 1990 signed an executive directive placing a moratorium on petroleum exploration there until after the year 2000 and pending completion of a series of environmental impact studies. President Clinton extended the directive through 2012. The moratorium has to be re-authorized annually by the House Appropriations Committee. It will expire on Oct. 1 unless Congress acts. The New
Bush Bush's enthusiasm may be slightly dampened by his campaign promise to defer to the states on this issue, and by congressional support for the moratorium. But Gov. John Kitzhaber of Oregon and Gov. Gary Locke of Washington were nervous enough about the campaign promise to send Bush a reminder in the form of a letter to Interior Secretary Gale Norton on Jan. 31. The letter noted that their states, as well as the Northwest Indian Fish Commission and the Columbia River InterTribal Fish Commission, oppose the opening of Northwest waters to oil and gas leasing. So, at least for the next five months, the moratorium stands. Accordingly, the MMS has excluded Sale Area 132 from its next five-year offshore leasing plan from 2002 to 2007. But this is only "a thin web of protection," says Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. "Both Oregon and Washington are vulnerable because they do not have independent laws on their books," as California does, that require a coastal commission to "sign off on any development proposal," Spain adds. If the supply and demand situation becomes desperate enough, erasing the moratorium would become politically palatable to many people and economically attractive to fossil fuel corporations. Vancouver, Wash., petroleum geologist Ann Donnelly says that "one billion cubic feet is a relatively substantial amount of gas even though it may not compare to Santa Barbara, and if you could find that amount, that would be worth doing. So I think if the area was opened to exploration there would be some interest." She figures mid-sized to large companies would be interested. Even if Sale Area 132 remains off-limits, Oregonians should think about tracking developments in California. The Eel River Basin at California's northern tip extends into the southern Oregon Coast, and the California Current carries northward whatever it finds. Says Charter, "If you ever had a loss of well control in northern California, you'd see it in Oregon."
Service workers at McKenzie-Willamette Hospital in Springfield are going public with their concerns about working conditions. The non-RN employees say high turnover rates and a low ratio of certified nurse aides (CNAs) to patients are threats to patient care.
Members of Service Employees International Union (SIEU) held a press conference May 7 in solidarity with 800 SIEU members across Oregon and Washington to launch a Unite for Patient Care Campaign. "We don't retain enough experienced people because of the substandard pay," says Ron Curtwright, a certified surgical technician at McKenzie-Willamette. "The people that do stay here have large patient loads, so we can't spend the time with patients we want to spend." The hospital workers say they intend to use this year's contract negotiations to improve working conditions and raise care standards. The ratio of CNAs to patients can be 1-10 on the day shift and 1-15 on evening and night shifts, according to the union. In 2000, nearly 20 percent of McKenzie-Willamette's 500 CNAs, technicians and other workers left their jobs, which the union blames on low wages. A CNA's starting wage is $8.88 an hour. Housekeepers start at $7.53 an hour, and the union considers even highly trained radiology technicians underpaid at $14.77 to $19.94 an hour. Hospital officials did not return phone calls by press time. Hospital employees at St. John PeaceHealth in Longview, Wash.,
and at Albany General in Albany are expected to initiate their patient-care campaigns
in the coming weeks. -- TJT $300,000
BULLET Sgt. Jay Shadwick of the Eugene Police Department was shot through his bullet-proof vest. The high-powered sniper round entered his left side, breaking his ribs and perforating his lung before exiting through his back. Shadwick was rushed to the hospital in critical condition where his spleen was removed (see news story, EW, May 3). Shadwick's recovery "will be a very lengthy process," taking "in excess of a year," says police spokeswoman Pam Alejandre. During that recovery, Shadwick's expenses will be paid by the city. The city is self-insured for the first $500,000 in workers' compensation claims and has an insurance policy to cover claims beyond that amount, according to Chuck Solin, Eugene's loss control manager. Solin currently estimates that Shadwick's claim will be under $250,000. The city also may have to pay overtime to cover Shadwick's work while he's recovering. That could cost $80,000 a year or more at the city's time-and-a-half overtime rates. Over the past five years, Solin says, the EPD has averaged 52 workers'
compensation claims a year at an average yearly cost to taxpayers of $93,343. --
AP FORCING
COMPLIANCE NCAP and PCFFA told a federal court in Seattle that the EPA knows pesticides are getting into Northwest waterways at levels that could harm endangered salmon and steelhead. Because the EPA licenses the pesticides, it is subject to provisions in the Endangered Species Act requiring federal agencies to consult with species-protection agencies on ways to avoid harm to wildlife. EPA hasn't done that, and this suit and a similar one in California could ultimately force major changes in how pesticides are used and licensed. "It makes no sense to destroy large chunks of the West Coast fishing industry just so these chemicals can be used in ways that are avoidable," says Glen Spain, Northwest regional director of PCFFA. The action touched a nerve. On May 2, 37 organizations representing agricultural interests, the pesticide industry, and groups ranging from Idaho mint growers to Washington golf course superintendents asked the court to let them into the fight. They argue that their interests aren't represented by environmentalists (who want to make "pesticide registration -- more onerous") or by the EPA, which "must serve the public interest and not private interests that are economically affected" by proposed changes. According to Terry Witt, executive director of Oregonians for Food and Shelter, a win by environmentalists would take "very important tools out of the hands of farmers and foresters and folks in urban settings that need these materials to protect their livelihood and protect their health and welfare." Aimee Code of NCAP says studies in the Willamette River basin show
that pesticide concentrations in the water rose between a study that ended in 1995
and another that ended a year later. Twelve chemicals showed up in levels that, according
to the EPA, could harm aquatic life, including threatened and endangered fish. Dozens
of commonly used or detected pesticides don't even have full risk assessments from
EPA -- including well-known chemicals like 2,4-D, methyl bromide (a potent eater
of atmospheric ozone) and sulfuric acid. -- Orna Izakson The lawmakers noted that members of the Eugene Newspaper Guild have been working without a contract since May 1999. "We are saddened by the inability of The Register-Guard to reach a timely and even-handed settlement with its employees," the letter states. Baker declined an EW request for comment on the letter, which also included praise for the newspaper as "a valuable community resource -- the result of the considerable talents and outstanding service rendered by the employees." The letter, dated April 24, was signed by Democratic Reps. Robert
Ackerman, Phil Barnhart, Vicki Walker, Bill Morrisette and Al King.-- TJT According to census data reported by PCUN, Oregon's farmworker union, just over half of Woodburn's 20,100 residents are Latino. The city, which ranks 21st in population in Oregon, grew by 50 percent overall in the past decade, while the Latino population there increased nearly three times faster. The state's Latino population grew 144 percent since 1990. Eight percent of Oregonians are now Latino; the national average is 12 percent. PCUN says the real numbers are probably higher still, since the census likely missed hundreds of Latinos who are homeless, newly arrived or afraid to let officials know of their residency. -- Orna Izakson
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