Eugene Daily Air Quality Report (Portland, Salem: allergies, living, air pollution)

[CCCVDUR]

And, this link, too. Daily updates of air quality:

http://www.lrapa.org/

[CCCVDUR]

Not sure if those numbers count Sulphorous Dioxides emitted from Lime Kilns at Sawmills. Just stepped out of where I'm staying in the area for a few minutes, and am blasted with drizzle along with horrible, suffocating sulphorous dioxide odors (smells like rotten eggs). Yuck! And this is Track Town USA? Ah, well maybe only for those blessed without congenital allergies and sensitivities! Where in the Willamette Valley or Oregon can you get away from this foul, suffocating odor? Reminds me of "The Aroma of Tacoma" up north in Tacoma, Wa.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by CCCVDUR

Not sure if those numbers count Sulphorous Dioxides emitted from Lime Kilns at Sawmills.

Geeeez! And do these mills go 24 hours a day, 7 days a week? If so, why, when Eugene is the Greenest City in Oregon? So one can't keep their windows open at night, w/o fear of an asthma attack or coughing fit? Does Ashland have a mill? Corvallis? Albany? Salem? Perhaps the environmentalists could find a cleaner place somewhere in Oregon w/o air inversions all night long?

[lymelyte]

The air quality in Eugene varies greatly depending on conditions. The predominant condition is typical of a valley surrounded by hills on three sides - containment. In other words, what goes on here stays here, air-wise. The cleanest air comes when it's raining, which unfortunately comes less often these days - we've been in a rain-deficit situation for the last several years. In the summer, when it doesn't rain for weeks, there's a build-up of car pollution, smokestack and factory emissions, the trainyard (see - OTA: Railyard Contamination - Air Pollution (http://www.oregontoxics.org/railyard/rr_ap.html - broken link)) and the usual pollens and allergens. The worst areas are the west and north sides, proximate to the industrial areas. The U of O is on the east side, which is residential for the most part, so the air is a little better there (Tracktown). Also, up in the South Hills you're above it a bit. I'm a daily runner and cyclist so I notice the air quality fluctuations on a daily basis. I've developed sinusitis since living here (10 years). Quite common here, according to my doctor.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by lymelyte

The air quality in Eugene varies greatly depending on conditions. The predominant condition is typical of a valley surrounded by hills on three sides - containment. In other words, what goes on here stays here, air-wise. The cleanest air comes when it's raining, which unfortunately comes less often these days - we've been in a rain-deficit situation for the last several years. In the summer, when it doesn't rain for weeks, there's a build-up of car pollution, smokestack and factory emissions, the trainyard (see - OTA: Railyard Contamination - Air Pollution (http://www.oregontoxics.org/railyard/rr_ap.html - broken link)) and the usual pollens and allergens. The worst areas are the west and north sides, proximate to the industrial areas. The U of O is on the east side, which is residential for the most part, so the air is a little better there (Tracktown). Also, up in the South Hills you're above it a bit. I'm a daily runner and cyclist so I notice the air quality fluctuations on a daily basis. I've developed sinusitis since living here (10 years). Quite common here, according to my doctor.

Sorry to hear about the development of your sinusitis in Eugene. That's a potentially incurable condition that's difficult to treat, once its initiated by pollution and/or allergens (just like COPD and other respiratory disorders).

Overall, do you think that the Air Quality is better in Corvallis or Ashland (OR) due to the smaller population? Fortunately there are other choices in Oregon.

Sounds like Boulder, CO and Denver are in same category as Eugene as having high air pollution, yet a very athletic population. Flagstaff, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe are much better.

[aries63]

I'd heard that a large paper mill in Albany contributed to pollution problems in the Valley, but then I read this article about how it was supposed to close down last December. Did that happen? Good news for air quality, bad for employment.

[lymelyte]

Originally Posted by CCCVDUR

Sorry to hear about the development of your sinusitis in Eugene. That's a potentially incurable condition that's difficult to treat, once its initiated by pollution and/or allergens (just like COPD and other respiratory disorders).

Overall, do you think that the Air Quality is better in Corvallis or Ashland (OR) due to the smaller population? Fortunately there are other choices in Oregon.

Sounds like Boulder, CO and Denver are in same category as Eugene as having high air pollution, yet a very athletic population. Flagstaff, Albuquerque, and Santa Fe are much better.

Not sure about Ashland, although I don't know of heavy industry there. Corvallis is not as hemmed in by the hills as is Eugene so the air there, as well as Portland, is better than Eugene in my experience (localized pockets notwithstanding). Again, Eugene's location, combined with a concentration of some local "smokestack" industries (i.e., those with emissions seen or unseen), makes the air quality suffer here. And it may be the location, surrounded by hills on three sides, that makes the most difference. The native American tribes apparently referred to the area around Eugene as the Valley of Death (or Sickness, some interpretations have it), so assuming there were no industrial polluters around then, I assume the tribes were referring to the general fog/allergen/pollen condition of this area. So often, when the rest of the valley is clear and sunny, Eugene will be socked in with fog, often all day. And if the conditions are holding fog, then they are holding everything else too.

[aries63]

I was just looking at city-data's "top 101 cities" lists and found that Eugene's air might not be as bad as it's made out to be, at least not in 2005 when the measurements were taken.

Under counties with the highest carbon monoxide levels, Lane County (Eugene) did better than Jackson County (Ashland). Jackson County ranked 18th worst in the nation, Lane County was 71st.

Under counties with highest annual particulate matter rankings, by the way, no county in Oregon made the top 101 list, but Bernalillo County (Albuquerque, NM) ranked 23rd highest.

Nitrogen dioxide: no county in Oregon made the top 101, but again Bernalillo County, New Mexico was 64th.

[aries63]

lymelyte: Can you provide a reference for this claim about the Native Americans calling it "Valley of Death" or is that just hearsay? I didn't find anything doing a quick internet search.

[CCCVDUR]

Originally Posted by lymelyte

Not sure about Ashland, although I don't know of heavy industry there. Corvallis is not as hemmed in by the hills as is Eugene so the air there, as well as Portland, is better than Eugene in my experience (localized pockets notwithstanding). Again, Eugene's location, combined with a concentration of some local "smokestack" industries (i.e., those with emissions seen or unseen), makes the air quality suffer here. And it may be the location, surrounded by hills on three sides, that makes the most difference. The native American tribes apparently referred to the area around Eugene as the Valley of Death (or Sickness, some interpretations have it), so assuming there were no industrial polluters around then, I assume the tribes were referring to the general fog/allergen/pollen condition of this area. So often, when the rest of the valley is clear and sunny, Eugene will be socked in with fog, often all day. And if the conditions are holding fog, then they are holding everything else too.

Great information, and thank you. I don't remember Corvallis having the amount of fog, humidity, drizzle, and dampness as Eugene has, when I lived in Corvallis. Neither does Seattle. I knew that the Native Americans said this about the Willamette Valley, but I didn't know they were specifically referring to areas around Eugene!