Mason County, WA USA 2011SAVE OUR AIR!
Will Diesel Trucks Bring "Black Tar" Along with Biomass?
Submitted to Shelton Blog by Joann Curtis Mason County Progressive
My husband Dick and I moved from outside Denver, Colorado, to Shelton (in spite of the so called higher crime rates) because of the BEAUTY that surrounds us everywhere here! We have fir and cedar trees all around us. We have the Puget Sound so close by wherever and whenever we travel. We have Mt. Rainier and Olympic Mountain views appearing here and there as we drive along the highways (or at our homes, if we are so lucky). We are all so BLESSED!
I was born and raised in Denver. It used to be a beautiful city with gorgeous mountain views. All of a sudden, starting back around 1973 onward, the "brown cloud" began. It is important to note that BOTH Denver and Shelton are prone to winter air inversions where pollutants are trapped near the ground and prevented from rising into the atmosphere.
The "brown cloud" that began to hang over the entire Metro-Denver area not only smelled badly, but was extremely toxic to breathe. Many people began having sinus and respiratory issues resulting in more sick-time off from work, more medical costs and the like. Many people developed asthma, our daughter included.
Until you live in a place like what Denver, Colorado became, we do not truly believe that anyone can genuinely appreciate what CLEAN AIR really means, and we still do have relatively clean air in this area.
For example, for starters, in Colorado our cars were covered on a weekly basis with black-smudge or what was locally called "black tar" from truck exhaust pollution. A car could not get clean just by going through one of the local car washes. Much more effort was always required.
Whenever we stopped for gas and tried to clean the "black tar" off our wind shields, our hands would get black in the attempt, and our wind shields were never really clean until we scrubbed them at home with detergent and water.
At home, our furniture would on a weekly basis get covered with a black film...and this happened living 10 miles away from downtown Denver! Even the simple chore of dusting the house became a major undertaking. I still cannot believe how easy it is to keep our home clean and looking good in Mason County.
Just think...that "black tar" that coated our car, wind shields, and furniture was the same "unseen" stuff we were breathing into our lungs near Denver. And it came mainly from diesel truck output. If we add dioxin and the additional PM 2.5 particles from the proposed ADAGE and Simpson smokestacks into the messy mix, we all will really be in for some SERIOUS health problems...let alone cleaning problems!
So, YES, Dick and I will fight for the right to continue to enjoy the clean air that Mason County still offers us. And we know from experience what awaits us if we lose this fight.
There will be fleets of diesel trucks coming down Shelton Springs Rd. passing by several schools, children and park play areas, nursing homes, senior citizen housing, major shopping areas, churches, and many residential areas that will pose a serious threat to our children and seniors, and indeed to us all with the "black tar" we will all be breathing constantly ever more. Those small oily black soot flakes, sometimes microscopic, floating in the air and sticking to whatever objects they touch, including the air we breathe, will get into our lungs and sinus passages.
There will be an estimated 200 to 300 additional daily truck trips for the delivery of biomass to the facility and the return to the reload point. Yes, Dick and I certainly do care. We know first hand what the consequences will be.
What really gets us is this: If folks REALLY knew all the facts, so many more would be standing up with us and fighting like crazy to protect what we have! We would not have any problem at all in getting money for attorney fees! We need to find ways to "make more people aware and care". We feel, sometimes, that people in our area do not really believe us about the dangers and problems ahead. We all need to stand up and take action NOW!
GOD HELP US ALL!
SHELTON BLOG NOTE:
LINKS TO PREVIOUS RELATED BLOG POSTS:
Submitted to Shelton Blog by Joann Curtis Mason County Progressive
My husband Dick and I moved from outside Denver, Colorado, to Shelton (in spite of the so called higher crime rates) because of the BEAUTY that surrounds us everywhere here! We have fir and cedar trees all around us. We have the Puget Sound so close by wherever and whenever we travel. We have Mt. Rainier and Olympic Mountain views appearing here and there as we drive along the highways (or at our homes, if we are so lucky). We are all so BLESSED!
I was born and raised in Denver. It used to be a beautiful city with gorgeous mountain views. All of a sudden, starting back around 1973 onward, the "brown cloud" began. It is important to note that BOTH Denver and Shelton are prone to winter air inversions where pollutants are trapped near the ground and prevented from rising into the atmosphere.
The "brown cloud" that began to hang over the entire Metro-Denver area not only smelled badly, but was extremely toxic to breathe. Many people began having sinus and respiratory issues resulting in more sick-time off from work, more medical costs and the like. Many people developed asthma, our daughter included.
Until you live in a place like what Denver, Colorado became, we do not truly believe that anyone can genuinely appreciate what CLEAN AIR really means, and we still do have relatively clean air in this area.
For example, for starters, in Colorado our cars were covered on a weekly basis with black-smudge or what was locally called "black tar" from truck exhaust pollution. A car could not get clean just by going through one of the local car washes. Much more effort was always required.
Whenever we stopped for gas and tried to clean the "black tar" off our wind shields, our hands would get black in the attempt, and our wind shields were never really clean until we scrubbed them at home with detergent and water.
At home, our furniture would on a weekly basis get covered with a black film...and this happened living 10 miles away from downtown Denver! Even the simple chore of dusting the house became a major undertaking. I still cannot believe how easy it is to keep our home clean and looking good in Mason County.
Just think...that "black tar" that coated our car, wind shields, and furniture was the same "unseen" stuff we were breathing into our lungs near Denver. And it came mainly from diesel truck output. If we add dioxin and the additional PM 2.5 particles from the proposed ADAGE and Simpson smokestacks into the messy mix, we all will really be in for some SERIOUS health problems...let alone cleaning problems!
So, YES, Dick and I will fight for the right to continue to enjoy the clean air that Mason County still offers us. And we know from experience what awaits us if we lose this fight.
There will be fleets of diesel trucks coming down Shelton Springs Rd. passing by several schools, children and park play areas, nursing homes, senior citizen housing, major shopping areas, churches, and many residential areas that will pose a serious threat to our children and seniors, and indeed to us all with the "black tar" we will all be breathing constantly ever more. Those small oily black soot flakes, sometimes microscopic, floating in the air and sticking to whatever objects they touch, including the air we breathe, will get into our lungs and sinus passages.
There will be an estimated 200 to 300 additional daily truck trips for the delivery of biomass to the facility and the return to the reload point. Yes, Dick and I certainly do care. We know first hand what the consequences will be.
What really gets us is this: If folks REALLY knew all the facts, so many more would be standing up with us and fighting like crazy to protect what we have! We would not have any problem at all in getting money for attorney fees! We need to find ways to "make more people aware and care". We feel, sometimes, that people in our area do not really believe us about the dangers and problems ahead. We all need to stand up and take action NOW!
GOD HELP US ALL!
SHELTON BLOG NOTE:
LINKS TO PREVIOUS RELATED BLOG POSTS:
DEADLINE FOR EIS COMMENTS 11/19/10
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Photo by Christine
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Photo by Christine
Since relocating to Washington state, I have NOT had chronic sinusitis!! Think of the medical and Rx savings I have enjoyed while living here. This is one of the many reasons why we are so opposed to ADAGE and Simpson/Solomon expanding into our Clear Air area. I love the fresh smell of our air. Just this past week I spent 4 days in Maple Valley and could really tell a difference in the air quality, even there so far from Seattle/Renton. Also, my sinuses began to bother me again. I hope for all of us here in Mason County that we can preserve the QUALITIES OF LIFE that mean so much over the long run.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for this post and for sharing your first-hand experience with what awaits Mason County; for telling us what we we can be experiencing if we cannot wake the citizens of this county to the danges posed by Adage and Simpson/Solomon.
ReplyDeleteThis county is already sharing the unhealthy effects of Grays Harbor, which sends it biomass incineration pollutants to us on the prevailing winds. Add an Adage and a new Simpson incinerator to that, combined with our inversions and we will be in a world of hurt.
The local physicians have told us this is bad idea. It would be nice if some of our citizens, and our political leaders, were not so arrogant as to believe they know more than the doctors.
In this area of recurring winter air inversions, just WHAT do the LOCAL planner$ & proponent$ of bioma$$ incineration think they are going to breathe, if the propo$als they have so zealously paved the way for go through???
ReplyDeletePerHAps they have put personal plans in place years ago to enable them to MOVE to where the air will be more palatable, if their nefarious projects actually manifest (as they so do believe they will).
OR, maybe they just don't care what they breathe...just the $mell of their $$$ will sustain them.