In a city that prides itself on being an environmental example to the world — from its throngs of bike commuters to its antisprawl development rules — the moss study results roared, producing an upheaval of surprise, anger and fear. Residents shouted or wept in public meetings last month, raging at state officials, who released the results and then found themselves blamed for not knowing what the factories were putting up their smokestacks.
On Tuesday, the director of Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality, Dick Pederson, resigned abruptly, saying he had health concerns that needed immediate care.
After the moss studies were released, local officials, who have said they are cautiously optimistic that public health impacts from the glass plants will in the end be minimal, raced in to take soil samples and set up air monitors. But residents near the plants were also cautioned last month to forgo, at least for now, even the spring rites of backyard gardening, until the …show more content…
Paul Lewis, the Multnomah County health officer.
Photo
Clara Ritter, 15 months old, tested positive for arsenic. “It’s the last thing I think of before I go to sleep and the first thing I think of in the morning,” said her mother, Sarah Livingstone, of the moss study findings. Credit Amanda Lucier for The New York Times
Residents like Sarah Livingstone, 41, who lives about five blocks from one of the glass factories, said the moss study and its consequences had changed her life.
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“It’s the last thing I think of before I go to sleep and the first thing I think of in the morning,” said Ms. Livingstone. Her 15-month-old daughter, Clara Ritter, tested positive for arsenic, which sent off alarm bells in the family even though doctors said it was within a normal range. “I don’t know how we get back to normal,” added her husband, Rex Ritter, 48, in an interview in their living
On Tuesday, the director of Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality, Dick Pederson, resigned abruptly, saying he had health concerns that needed immediate care.
After the moss studies were released, local officials, who have said they are cautiously optimistic that public health impacts from the glass plants will in the end be minimal, raced in to take soil samples and set up air monitors. But residents near the plants were also cautioned last month to forgo, at least for now, even the spring rites of backyard gardening, until the …show more content…
Paul Lewis, the Multnomah County health officer.
Photo
Clara Ritter, 15 months old, tested positive for arsenic. “It’s the last thing I think of before I go to sleep and the first thing I think of in the morning,” said her mother, Sarah Livingstone, of the moss study findings. Credit Amanda Lucier for The New York Times
Residents like Sarah Livingstone, 41, who lives about five blocks from one of the glass factories, said the moss study and its consequences had changed her life.
Advertisement
Continue reading the main story
“It’s the last thing I think of before I go to sleep and the first thing I think of in the morning,” said Ms. Livingstone. Her 15-month-old daughter, Clara Ritter, tested positive for arsenic, which sent off alarm bells in the family even though doctors said it was within a normal range. “I don’t know how we get back to normal,” added her husband, Rex Ritter, 48, in an interview in their living