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About The nugget. (Sisters, Or.) 1994-current | View Entire Issue (April 26, 2017)
Wednesday, April 26, 2017 The Nugget Newspaper, Sisters, Oregon Tales from a Sisters Naturalist by Jim Anderson Watching over us and our homes The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is a state agency designed to help keep our planet Earth — and us — healthy. Currently, DEQ is encouraging Oregonians throughout the state to take part in a nationwide effort on Saturday, April 29 to col- lect unused, unwanted or expired medications so they can be disposed of properly. The federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), in association with hundreds of law enforce- ment, public health and other organizations, is conducting the upcoming National Prescription Drug Take-Back Day. Last year, Americans turned in 366 tons (over 730,000 pounds) of prescrip- tion drugs at almost 5,200 sites operated by DEA and more than 4,000 of its state and local law enforcement partners. Overall, in its 12 previous Take-Back events, DEA and its partners have taken in over 7.1 million pounds — more than 3,500 tons — of pills. More than two dozen col- lection events will take place in Oregon from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. For details on event locations and times, visit the DEA website at www.dea diversion.usdoj.gov/drug_ disposal/takeback. You can select events by city, county, and zip code. The collection events help people dispose of drugs in a way that’s safe for both people and the environment. Because as many drugs pass through wastewater treatment filtering systems; flushing unwanted drugs down the toilet or drain ends up polluting waterways, For people unable to take part in the events, more than 80 law enforcement offices in Oregon accept unwanted and unused drugs through- out the year. For a list of these sites, see www.oregon. gov/pharmacy/Imports/OR U n w a n t e d D r u g D r o p O ff Sites.pdf, or contact your local city police office or county sheriff’s office for more information. On the other side of the coin there are some com- panies not interested in the health of our air, water, and soil; as a result, it’s finan- cially unhealthy of them to not stay within the guide- lines of DEQ. As an example, Contact Industries in Prineville was issued a $6,600 penalty by DEQ for allegedly per- forming unlicensed asbes- tos abatement work at its facility. DEQ stated the company employees removed approx- imately 185 square feet of sheet vinyl flooring from the site in November 2016, but later testing showed the flooring material contained asbestos. According to DEQ, Contact Industries notified DEQ of the asbestos distur- bance and a licensed asbes- tos abatement contractor arrived to assess and decon- taminate the affected area. However, the company violated state law by con- ducting an asbestos abate- ment project without being a licensed asbestos abatement contractor and without noti- fying DEQ. The company is said to have also mishandled asbestos-containing material and failed to properly man- age and secure that material. In the event you don’t know, or have forgotten why asbestos is such a villain in the area of human health, here’s a reminder: Asbestos is the name given to several naturally occurring fibrous minerals that are very strong, durable and heat-resistant. Because of these properties, asbestos has been used in the manu- facture of a wide range of construction materials, such as roofing shingles, ceiling and floor tiles, insulation, adhesives, and cement sid- ing, along with safety tex- tiles; and friction products such as automobile clutch, brake and transmission parts. All of which we can stumble over without warning. Exposure to asbestos increases our risk of devel- oping lung disease; the fibers become embedded and accumulate in lung tis- sue over time, and to make that even more deadly, there is no known safe level for human exposure to asbestos. Therefore, contact with any amount of asbestos should be avoided. Symptoms to asbestos- related problems may take several years to develop fol- lowing exposure. The most common asbestos-related lung diseases are: asbestosis, a serious, progressive, long- term non-cancer disease of the lungs, caused by inhaling asbestos fibers that irritate lung tissues and cause the tissues to scar, which makes it difficult for oxygen to get into the blood. Then there’s chemicals getting into our environ- ment. DEQ issued a $6,421 civil penalty to Solaicx, Inc., a company the manufactures and sells solar arrays, for failing to comply with the monitoring requirements of their permit for their facil- ity. According to DEQ sci- entists, the facility failed to collect monitoring data for iron discharge in the 2015- 2016 monitoring period. They are required to sam- ple and monitor storm water to ensure discharges meet the benchmarks set forth in their permit. (To make everything work as planned, the system that protects water quality in Oregon is highly dependent upon per- mit-holders complying with Jeff Jones Principal Broker 541-480-7201 jeffjoneslcl@ gmail.com 31 PHOTO PROVIDED DEQ scientist taking water samples. the monitoring requirements of the permits.) Without consistent and accurate data, DEQ and the public can’t determine whether permit-holders are complying with pollut- ant limits. To make it even worse, having a limit to how much pollutants can be legally discharged into our environment is already a serious risk, no matter how you look at it. That, from a scientific viewpoint of unwanted med- ications, drugs, and required environmental monitor- ing is why it is so vital to pubic safety that there is an agency set up to collect and destroy chemicals and medi- cations for public health. Our tax money going to a place that protect us from ourselves… Superior Escrow Execution Ultimate Service Stop by and visit with Tiana Van Landuyt & Shelley Marsh. 220 S. Pine St., Ste. 102 | 541-548-9180 THIS WEEK’S FEATURED PROPERTY Doug Roberts Principal Broker 541-280-6199 dougrobertsMPS @gmail.com Lana Labuda Principal Broker 541-408-4144 lana@sisters properties.com Ellen Wood Broker 541-588-0033 woode51@ msn.com Katie Cam Broker 971-409-0177 katiercam@ gmail.com 1 17010 7 0 1 0 Royal R l Coachman C h Drive, D i Sisters S i t ~ $814,900 $ 8 1 4 9 0 0 Beautiful, custom home on .78 acre in the gated golf community of Aspen Lakes. Community amenities include pool, clubhouse, tennis courts, basketball and a wonderful restaurant with views of the Three Sisters Mountains. Charming, 2,887 sq. ft., 3-bedroom, 3-bath home is perfectly maintained with many upgrades and special features. Propane fi replace in greatroom. Additional space upstairs can easily be fi nished for an additional bedroom/bathroom or bonus room. One-year home warranty. Come in or call to learn more about this property or our other listings 290 E. Cascade Ave., Sisters Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm | Sat 10 am-4 pm 541-588-6614 Linda Brooksby Broker Sisters Premier Choice for Real Estate 541-977-4488 lindabrooksbylcl VIEW ALL OUR LISTINGS AT METOLIUSPROPERTYSALES.COM @gmail.com Suzanne Carvlin Broker 541-595-8707 Suzanne@Home InSisters.com Kimberly Gorayeb Principal Broker 541-639-5551 kiminsisters @gmail.com Dechen Dawkins Broker 541-241-6619 soldonsisters @gmail.com e Wher er m custo vice ser fi rst! o c mes
