THE DALLES, Ore. – The Department of Environmental Quality has asked a federal public health agency to analyze the long-term health effects of a wood treatment plant in The Dalles.
The DEQ announced its plan Friday. It’s the first time a federal agency has looked at health effects from naphthalene in Oregon, and the first time any analysis of long-term health effects of naphthalene has been conducted in the state.
The DEQ also said Amerities will replace the current creosote it uses with a lower-naphthalene formulation in December.
Some citizens in The Dalles have complained for decades about the strong odor and possible health problems from emissions released by Amerities, a plant that uses the coal-tar byproduct creosote to treat wooden railroad ties. Others welcome the plant, which provides about 50 living-wage jobs.
The plant has been in operation for nearly a century and the town has slowly grown around it. Amerities treats thousands of wooden ties a day in a creosote bath and dries them outside on a large swath of land near the Columbia River.
The plant off-gasses the sharp-smelling chemical naphthalene, which the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR) has labeled as a probable carcinogen.
The DEQ asked ATSDR to find out what the long-term health impacts from naphthalene are in The Dalles, after initial monitoring results from a three-month test found levels higher than the state says are safe to breathe long-term. Full results are expected later this year.
“Based on the data, OHA determined that there was no indication of acute, or short-term, health risks associated with naphthalene emissions in The Dalles. However, levels exceeded the state’s clean air goal for naphthalene, which is based on a lifetime exposure of 70 years,” said spokesman Greg Svelund.
If ATSDR finds a health risk to the public, it will also recommend steps to reduce the risk to people in The Dalles.
The ATSDR analysis should be finished sometime next year.
An open house to discuss air quality in The Dalles is tentatively planned for November, Svelund said.
Published Sept. 23, 2016
