PORTLAND, Oregon — Neighbors in Northeast Portland are still picking up debris and ash from the a large fire that gutted the old Kmart near Northeast 122nd Avenue and Northeast Sandy Boulevard Wednesday morning. Sending chunks of ashy material as far as two miles from the building.
“It kind of speaks to the biggest systemic problem that’s affecting our neighborhood,” said Aaron Blew, who lives in the Argay neighborhood. “We can still smell smoke in the air. We are worried about what this means for our garden and for the air quality for ourselves and our neighbors.”
On Thursday, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) confirmed debris found in the surrounding neighborhoods, on Parkrose School District property and in Luuwit View Park tested positive for asbestos. Officials now say, additional testing from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is showing less contamination than the initial results suggested.
But residents of the area are still left to pick up potentially contaminated debris off their properties.
“I would have loved to have seen an equitable response to what Ted Wheeler would want in his own neighborhood," said Blew. "Like if it was a more affluent neighborhood, I think there would be a different response. And I think it's unfair to all the neighbors who we have here in this great neighborhood.”
On Friday, the EPA contracted environmental scientists to walk the area and record where they visually found debris. Here’s a map of their findings. Its spans from Northeast Sandy Boulevard to Northeast Halsey Street.
KGW reached out to DEQ for clarification on how many of the samples tested, both times, came back positive for asbestos but did not get a response.
Rather, someone from the EPA clarified over the phone that the initial asbestos testing was conducted by Portland Parks and Recreation, but wasn’t “done to EPA’s specs.” Adding, they don’t know whether this information collected by a contractor can be relied upon.
“I think we need to see more urgency and more desire from the city council and DEQ to take care of folks in this neighborhood,” said Blew.
The cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Portland Fire said it's conducting a joint scene examination Wednesday morning. They are still looking for anyone with video of the Kmart lot between 5:30 a.m. and 6:30 a.m. Especially anything prior to the fire department arriving.