City of Shelton Commission Meeting 3/28/11Submitted to Shelton Blog by John Cox Mason County Progressive
Statement presented to Commission on March 28, 2011
In October of last year, a study showed that for every increase of 10 ug/cubic meter of Particulate Matter 2.5 (PM2.5) in the air, there was a 1% increase in the incidence of diabetes.
This is just an example of some the recent studies and information that the EPA and, therefore, ORCAA do not take into consideration. As we all know, government agency rules and regulations tend to be years behind current science (unless it’s for the military). Cigarettes and secondhand smoke issues are a good example of this phenomenon.
Organizations like the American Lung Association, the American Heart Association, and most of our local physicians recognize this dilemma.
ORCAA bases its decisions, to permit or not, on available pollution background measurements over a long period of time. Here, the measurements are taken on our hospital roof, not in downtown Shelton where the largest pollution sources are located.
This being the case, how can ORCAA accurately assess the situation in downtown Shelton with Simpson’s old incinerator and Olympic Panel, both of which are major sources of air pollution in this county?
Recognizing this data legitimacy problem due to the prompting of local activists, ORCAA has agreed to install a air monitoring site in downtown Shelton.
The only prudent thing to do is to hold off on allowing any new pollution sources in Shelton until ORCAA has relevant data on which to base a decision...data which reflects the actual situation.
Therefore, I suggest that the City of Shelton Commission declare a moratorium on new pollution sources, for a period of least one year, to allow time for background pollution data to be collected with the new downtown monitor. This would include the proposed second Simpson biomass incinerator which would be a major source of PM2.5 and other toxic pollutants for decades to come.
John Cox
Shelton, WA
Photo by Christine
SHELTON BLOG NOTE:
Next City of Shelton Commission Meeting:
Monday, April 4th, 6:00 PM at the Civic Center
Science and facts. We are still trying to move immovable objects with science and facts... the science and facts so impressed the reporter from the Journal who attended the meeting on Monday night that she wrote an article, published in the March 31, 2011, Journal, titled: "City eager for parks donations."
ReplyDeleteWith my imperfect memory I can recall seven (7) citizens who got up to speak against permitting the Simpson project. Two of those speakers requested a moratorium similar to the one in Thurston County, and one passionate speaker spoke three separate times.
The Journal's reporting of the citizen concerns, or failure to report the concerns presented by the citizens at the Monday meeting, speaks volumes to me.
And who was that incredibly rude lady sitting next to John Dobson who spoke during each speaker? Apparently she already knows everything there is to know, about everything, and therefore she had no need to listen to the air-breathers who spoke.
Perhaps at the next City meeting she will extend us the courtesy of not attending.
There were actually ELEVEN concerned citizen activists who stood up to speak against permitting the Simpson project, and there were TWENTY-ONE of us packing the room!
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