NORTHWEST
East Oregonian
Page 2A
Saturday, October 7, 2017
OSU ag chemist studies Harvey’s impact Senators pitch bill
Oregon State University’s
College of Agricultural
Sciences is working on a
project that will help some
Houston residents determine
if they’ve been exposed
to chemicals stirred up by
Hurricane Harvey.
An OSU team traveled to
Houston in mid-September
and distributed three dozen
silicone wristbands that
absorb chemical molecules.
Project volunteers were to
wear them for seven days and
then mail them back to OSU
for analysis. They’ll receive
back an individualized
chemical exposure report
plus an aggregated report of
the Houston results.
Kim Anderson, an OSU
professor in the College
of Ag’s Environmental
and Molecular Toxicology
Department,
cautioned
against reading too much
into the analysis.
“It’s not a health report,”
she said. “It’s a report of
chemicals in the wristband.”
The porous wristbands
can sample more than 1,500
organic chemicals, including
pesticides and hydrocarbon
from wood or fossil fuel
combustion, and benzene and
toluene found in industrial
solvents. They don’t pick
up inorganic material such
as carbon monoxide, lead or
Oregon State University
Kim Anderson, an environmental chemist at OSU’s
College of Agricultural Sciences, wears a chemical-
detecting silicone wristband in this 2014 photo.
chromium, however.
In recent years, the wrist-
bands have been used to study
pesticide exposure among
farmworkers and producers
in the Southeast, California
and Peru, Anderson said.
Those studies are continuing.
Hurricane
Harvey,
for wildfire recovery
storm. Residents may have
been exposed to chemicals
washed out by flooding or in
the air, especially as people
were involved in cleanup
work. But the impact of that
is unclear.
“We hear it’s a toxic soup,
but we don’t have data to say
it’s a toxic soup,” Anderson
said. “What are the expo-
sures?”
The public believes
chemicals are all tested for
toxicity, but most have never
been tested, she said. Beyond
pesticides, most chemicals
don’t have regulatory expo-
sure limits assigned to them.
OSU’s department of
environmental and molecular
toxicology is collaborating
with Baylor College of Medi-
cine, Texas A&M University
and the University of Texas
on the project.
“Community members
were asking for some way
to measure their chemical
exposure after the flooding
from Harvey,” Anderson said
in an OSU news release. “We
were all geared up and ready
to go, so we offered to come
down, and they said, ‘Yes,
please.’”
Anderson
and
OSU
colleagues Peter Hoffman,
Lane Tidwell and Holly Dixon
flew to Houston Sept. 19 and
distributed wristbands after
explaining the project at a
community meeting held near
some of the Superfund sites.
By ERIC MORTENSON
EO Media Group
however, provided a unique
opportunity to measure
chemical exposure. Houston
has 13 “Superfund” cleanup
sites, plus oil refineries and
other industries that may
have been swamped to some
degree by the massive amount
of rain dumped during the
East Oregonian
A bipartisan group
of Western senators has
introduced a bill that would
allow states affected by
wildfire to tap into federal
hazard recovery dollars,
providing immediate assis-
tance to help reduce the risk
of flooding, erosion and
future blazes.
As it stands, states can
receive hazard mitigation
funding only after the
president declares a major
disaster. However, unlike
destructive
hurricanes,
floods or tornadoes, most
fires do not typically
receive a major disaster
declaration.
The Wildfire Mitigation
Assistance Act would treat
fires the same as other
disasters, allowing states
access to the Hazard Miti-
gation Grant Program. The
proposal comes after nearly
8 million acres of forest
were consumed by fire this
summer, including 678,000
acres in Oregon.
The bill was announced
Friday by Sens. Ron Wyden
(D-Oregon), Michal Bennet
(D-Colorado), Mike Crapo
(R-Idaho), Jon Tester
(D-Montana) and Jim Risch
(R-Idaho).
“This is urgent business
that requires an equally
urgent and comprehensive
response,” Wyden said.
“This bill marks a key piece
of that response to help
people recover from the
devastation of wildfires by
providing funding to local
governments to reduce
flooding and erosion after
fires, monitor stream and
habitat health and assist
residents in clearing brush
from around their homes
and businesses.”
Wyden and fellow
Oregon Democrat Jeff
Merkley are also behind a
separate bill to permanently
fix the way federal agencies
Public meeting set for Tollgate forest project
there is a lot of interest in
the success of implementing
this project, and we hope
Tollgate residents, as well
as the weekend recreational
land and cabin owners, will
join us.”
A representative from
the Oregon Department of
Forestry will also be on hand
to discuss how the Tollgate
project ties into treatment
of private forestland, and
provide information about
the state’s Cohesive Wildfire
Strategy to strengthen the
resiliency of communities
surrounded by public land
from wildfire.
In 2005, the Umatilla
County Community Wildfire
Protection Plan identified
the Tollgate wildland-urban
interface as a priority for
fuels reduction to lessen
East Oregonian
The Umatilla National
Forest will host a public
meeting Friday, Oct. 13 to
update residents on the status
of the ongoing Tollgate Fuels
Reduction Project, which
was approved in 2014 to
treat about 4,300 acres of
forest through thinning and
prescribed burns.
Walla Walla District
Ranger Mike Rassbach said
the meeting will run from
1-3 p.m. at the Tollgate Trail
Finders Club House, 62369
Highway 204, to discuss
progress of fuels treatments
and planned activities for
2018.
“The Tollgate area is one
of the most utilized recre-
ation areas on the forest,”
Rassbach said. “We know
the impact of large fires
on lives, property and the
environment. The Tollgate
Fuels Reduction Project was
developed collaboratively
out of that assessment.
For more information
about the project, contact
Joseph Sciarrino, Walla Walla
District fuels management
officer, at 509-522-6283.
The project’s environmental
impact statement can also be
found online at www.fs.usda.
gov/umatilla.
As of Wednesday, all
public
use
restrictions
pertaining to recreational
chainsaw use, smoking and
motorized vehicle travel have
been lifted on the Wallowa-
Whitman National Forest.
Restrictions were also
previously lifted last month
on the Umatilla National
Forest. Seasonal campfire
restrictions, however, remain
in effect on all public lands
through Oct. 31.
Campfires are allowed
only in fire pits surrounded
by dirt, rock or commercial
rings, with all flammable
material cleared within a
3-foot radius. Fires must be
attended at all times, and put
dead out prior to leaving.
For more information, call
the forest office 541-523-
6391.
Corrections
Hermiston Mayor Dave Drotzmann was appointed to League of Oregon Cities board earlier
this year and his term will expire in 2019. Incorrect information appeared in the article “Chalmers
named to board for League of Oregon Cities” (Oct. 6, Page 3A) that only two members of the
board — Paul Chalmers and Tessa Winebarger — represent cities from east of the Cascades.
The East Oregonian works hard to be accurate and sincerely regrets any errors. If
you notice a mistake in the paper, please call 541-966-0818.
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Copyright © 2017, EO Media Group
REGIONAL CITIES
Forecast
TODAY
SUNDAY
Partly sunny,
breezy and cooler
Mostly sunny and
cool
64° 44°
61° 36°
MONDAY
Partly sunny
TUESDAY
Partly sunny
PENDLETON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
65° 45°
66° 42°
60° 40°
HERMISTON TEMPERATURE FORECAST
66° 35°
67° 46°
PENDLETON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
LOW
76°
68°
89° (1933)
43°
43°
24° (1916)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.05"
0.19"
12.34"
8.14"
9.13"
HERMISTON
through 3 p.m. yesterday
TEMPERATURE
HIGH
Yesterday
Normals
Records
LOW
78°
70°
88° (2014)
35°
41°
23° (2012)
PRECIPITATION
24 hours ending 3 p.m.
Month to date
Normal month to date
Year to date
Last year to date
Normal year to date
0.00"
0.03"
0.10"
7.04"
5.45"
6.66"
SUN AND MOON
Sunrise today
Sunset tonight
Moonrise today
Moonset today
Last
New
Oct 12
Oct 19
67° 43°
64° 39°
Seattle
61/47
ALMANAC
Yesterday
Normals
Records
68° 41°
First
7:01 a.m.
6:24 p.m.
7:59 p.m.
9:04 a.m.
Full
Oct 27
Nov 3
Today
WEDNESDAY
Sunny to partly
cloudy
Spokane
Wenatchee
59/40
63/42
Tacoma
Moses
60/42
Lake
Pullman
Aberdeen Olympia
Yakima 66/41
58/40
59/49
60/42
67/37
Longview
Kennewick Walla Walla
61/48
65/46 Lewiston
69/46
Astoria
65/45
61/48
Portland
Enterprise
Hermiston
63/48
Pendleton 55/37
The Dalles 67/46
64/44
66/49
La Grande
Salem
57/39
65/46
Albany
Corvallis 65/46
64/43
John Day
58/40
Ontario
Eugene
Bend
67/42
64/43
58/34
Caldwell
Burns
67/42
62/30
Astoria
Baker City
Bend
Brookings
Burns
Enterprise
Eugene
Heppner
Hermiston
John Day
Klamath Falls
La Grande
Meacham
Medford
Newport
North Bend
Ontario
Pasco
Pendleton
Portland
Redmond
Salem
Spokane
Ukiah
Vancouver
Walla Walla
Yakima
Hi
61
58
58
63
62
55
64
62
67
58
66
57
54
71
60
64
67
68
64
63
58
65
59
53
62
65
67
Lo
48
32
34
49
30
37
43
43
46
40
29
39
37
42
47
47
42
43
44
48
30
46
40
36
49
46
37
W
sh
pc
pc
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
pc
s
pc
r
s
pc
s
s
s
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
pc
s
NATIONAL WEATHER TODAY
Sun.
Hi
63
56
54
66
54
51
65
58
66
52
58
54
51
66
60
64
61
68
61
65
58
67
58
49
64
63
68
Lo
42
22
27
51
19
28
36
34
35
30
30
28
27
38
44
44
32
35
36
42
23
39
36
25
40
41
32
Shown are noon positions of weather systems and precipitation. Temperature bands are highs for the day.
W
pc
s
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
pc
s
pc
s
s
pc
s
pc
s
s
pc
s
s
WORLD CITIES
Today
Beijing
Hong Kong
Jerusalem
London
Mexico City
Moscow
Paris
Rome
Seoul
Sydney
Tokyo
Hi
67
92
77
64
75
50
60
72
78
69
72
Lo
56
82
64
50
54
39
51
48
62
56
66
W
sh
t
s
r
pc
c
pc
s
pc
c
r
Sun.
Hi
65
92
78
63
75
53
63
72
77
73
76
Lo
57
82
62
51
54
45
48
58
61
63
66
W
pc
pc
s
pc
pc
s
c
pc
pc
sh
pc
WINDS
Medford
71/42
(in mph)
Klamath Falls
66/29
Boardman
Pendleton
REGIONAL FORECAST
Coastal Oregon: A brief shower or two
today; in the morning in central parts, any
time across the north.
Eastern and Central Oregon: Partly sunny
today. Cooler; a morning shower in spots
across the north.
Western Washington: Some sun today with
a shower in places. Partly cloudy tonight
with spotty showers.
Eastern Washington: A shower today, ex-
cept a shower near the Idaho border; sunny
in central sections.
Cascades: Cooler today; a shower or two,
except a couple of rain or snow showers in
the south.
Northern California: Areas of low clouds
early today; otherwise, sunny at the coast.
Sunny elsewhere.
Today
Sunday
WSW 10-20
W 10-20
NW 4-8
WNW 6-12
UV INDEX TODAY
Shown is today’s weather. Temperatures are today’s highs and tonight’s lows.
0
pay for fighting increas-
ingly large fires. Chiefly,
the
Wildfire
Disaster
Funding Act of 2017 would
put an end to the practice of
“fire borrowing,” where the
Forest Service and Bureau
of Land Management are
forced to take money from
fire prevention programs to
pay for firefighting.
Meanwhile, the Trump
administration
asked
Congress for $29 billion in
disaster aid on Wednesday,
which included $577
million to help replenish
the agencies’ firefighting
accounts. Oregon’s lone
Republican congressman,
Greg Walden, applauded
the move, adding that it
is past time to fix how the
country pays for fires.
The Wildfire Mitigation
Assistance
Act
drew
support Friday from Roy
Charles Brooks, president
of the National Association
of Counties, as well as
Thomas Jenkins, presi-
dent and chairman of the
International Association
of Fire Chiefs and Robie
Robinson, former president
of the U.S. Council of the
International Association of
Emergency Managers.
“As mitigation is the
linchpin of emergency
management, expanding
hazard mitigation grant
funding following a fire
management
assistance
grant declaration will
enable jurisdictions to
implement programs that
will effectively reduce risks
and return benefits many
fold,” Robinson said.
The Forest Service
estimates it has spent more
than $2 billion on wildfires
in 2017, setting a new
record for the agency. Fire
managers and researchers
warn that fire seasons are
getting longer and hotter
across the West, increasing
the odds for more mega-
fires into the future.
2
3
3
2
0
8 a.m. 10 a.m. Noon 2 p.m. 4 p.m. 6 p.m.
0-2, Low
3-5, Moderate 6-7, High;
8-10, Very High;
11+, Extreme
The higher the AccuWeather.com UV Index™ num-
ber, the greater the need for eye and skin protection.
Forecasts and graphics provided by
AccuWeather, Inc. ©2017
-10s
-0s
showers t-storms
0s
10s
rain
20s
flurries
30s
40s
snow
ice
50s
60s
cold front
70s
80s
90s
100s
warm front stationary front
110s
high
low
National Summary: Rain, wind and seas will increase along the central Gulf coast as Nate
approaches later today. Rain and storms will affect the Midwest. Showers will accompany a
push of chilly air in the Northwest.
Yesterday’s National Extremes: (for the 48 contiguous states)
High 99° in Chino, Calif.
Low 9° in Bodie State Park, Calif.
NATIONAL CITIES
Today
Albuquerque
Atlanta
Atlantic City
Baltimore
Billings
Birmingham
Boise
Boston
Charleston, SC
Charleston, WV
Chicago
Cleveland
Dallas
Denver
Detroit
El Paso
Fairbanks
Fargo
Honolulu
Houston
Indianapolis
Jacksonville
Kansas City
Las Vegas
Little Rock
Los Angeles
Hi
71
81
79
84
65
86
67
75
85
90
79
84
85
77
83
84
47
72
86
89
84
88
70
88
87
92
Lo
48
73
69
68
40
73
41
65
73
67
56
62
60
46
61
55
36
46
73
71
57
78
53
64
66
63
W
s
c
pc
pc
pc
t
s
pc
sh
pc
t
pc
pc
s
c
s
r
s
pc
pc
t
pc
s
s
pc
s
Sun.
Hi
77
78
77
82
52
78
58
77
87
77
78
79
89
72
77
90
46
65
87
91
79
87
80
91
85
80
Lo
49
72
70
68
31
73
33
65
75
66
55
63
67
31
59
63
34
40
74
70
62
76
53
60
66
61
Today
W
s
r
r
r
r
r
pc
c
c
r
s
s
pc
pc
s
s
r
pc
pc
pc
pc
t
s
s
sh
pc
Louisville
Memphis
Miami
Milwaukee
Minneapolis
Nashville
New Orleans
New York City
Oklahoma City
Omaha
Philadelphia
Phoenix
Portland, ME
Providence
Raleigh
Rapid City
Reno
Sacramento
St. Louis
Salt Lake City
San Diego
San Francisco
Seattle
Tucson
Washington, DC
Wichita
Hi
86
87
89
76
66
86
84
80
78
70
85
96
71
78
84
75
83
87
81
76
82
73
61
96
85
77
Lo
66
73
81
56
50
71
76
68
53
51
70
65
60
64
69
43
44
52
56
49
64
54
47
59
73
51
W
sh
t
t
r
r
sh
r
pc
pc
r
pc
s
c
pc
t
pc
s
s
t
s
s
s
pc
s
pc
s
Sun.
Hi
77
84
90
76
68
79
88
80
81
75
81
96
75
74
84
54
63
82
83
57
74
73
62
95
82
81
Lo
67
70
78
56
45
70
75
70
58
50
71
68
56
67
70
34
35
54
60
39
63
60
43
62
71
54
Weather (W): s-sunny, pc-partly cloudy, c-cloudy, sh-showers, t-thunderstorms, r-rain,
sf-snow flurries, sn-snow, i-ice.
W
r
sh
c
s
pc
r
r
sh
s
s
r
s
sh
c
sh
sh
s
s
s
pc
pc
s
pc
s
r
s