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About Smoke signals. (Grand Ronde, Or.) 19??-current | View Entire Issue (March 15, 1998)
March 15, 1998 Community 3 Potential health hazards of backyard burn barrels Most burn barrels operate at tem peratures of 400-500F, which is considerably lower than commercial incinerators. The lower burning tem perature is caused by poor oxygen air flow in the barrels. Because the burn barrels do not reach a high enough temperature, the trash does not completely burn. Burn barrels, when compared to incinerators, pro duce 310 times the amount of organic gases, 12,000 times the amount car bon monoxide, 30 times the amount of carbon dioxide, and 40 times the amount of particles that incinerators produce for the same amount of gar bage burned. The particles cause health problems. Particles that are larger in size can travel downwind and land on the ground. A study re vealed that this problem occurs with about 50 of the particles.. This amounts to a fallout of approximately 120 pounds of particles per ton of burned refuse, which affects our health and environment. Products of incomplete combustion , present the greatest risk to particu late contamination. Plastics that do not completely burn contain amounts of benzene and toluene, which are suspected carcinogens. Unburned ash contains heavy metals such as Studies have shown that nearly 60,000 Americans die each yearjrom Mhalatkm of soot. chromium, lead and cadmium, which can leach into the ground water and contaminate it. This ash should not be spread in gardens or in the yard. Since half of the particles produced in barrel burning are incredibly small, they can easily pose problems by traveling directly into homes, as well as miles away. These particles that develop from burn barrels can cause diseases such as asthma, can cer, lung disease, sudden elderly heart attack and sudden infant death syndrome. Studies have shown that nearly , 60,000 Americans die each year from the inhalation of soot. Particles cling to and scar lung tissue. This prob lem is a large factor in children who develop asthma. Children develop these problems more quickly because they have a higher breathing rate than NATURAL RESOURCES PUBLIC NOTICE The Environmental Assessment (EA) and a Finding of No Sig nificant Impact (FONSI) have been issued for the proposed Three Creeks Logging Unit located in portions of the South ern Vi of Section 17, Township 5 South, Range 8 West, Wil lamette Meridian, Yamhill County, Oregon, on the Grand Ronde Indian Reservation. The EA discloses two proposed Harvest Alternatives, and one Deferred Harvest Alternative. The EA further discloses potential impacts to the human and natural environment that may occur as a result of the proposed Alter natives. The FONSI discloses the Alternative selected by the Responsible Official, and presents the rationale for the selec tion. The Preferred Alternative, Alternative B, proposes a clear-cut harvest of approximately 51.7 acres of Douglas-fir and hardwood timber. The plan calls for a 16.8 acre riparian buffer, and the construction of two temporary roads that will be rehabilitated following harvest. Harvest under this Alter native yields approximately 3.576 million board feet of conifer timber, and 57.8 thousand board feet of hardwood timber. The EA and FONSI are available for public review and com ment for 15 days beginning the first day after publication of this notice. The Responsible Official is Mr. Stan Speaks, Port land Area Director for the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Written comments and requests for copies of the EA and FONSI should be addressed to: Peter M. Wakeland, Forester, Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Natural Resources Di vision, P.O. Box 10, Grand Ronde, Oregon 97347. Mr. Wakeland may be reached by phone at: (503) 879-2378. Writ ten comments must include: (1) Your name, address, and tele phone number; (2) Title of the document on which you are com menting; and (3) Specific facts or comments along with sup porting reasons that you believe that the Responsible Official should consider. Comments received will be given consider ation before final action is taken. adults. Pregnant mothers infect their unborn child each time they breathe in contaminated air, and this can al ter the child's DNA in the early months of pregnancy. Inhalation of these particles has also been shown to alter our immune systems. Burn barrels produce highly visible plumes of smoke. Due to the low al titude of the burn barrels the smoke does not have enough time to disperse into the atmosphere. This can result in high particulate concentrations miles down wind from the bum sites. Listed here are other healthy alter natives to burning trash in backyard barrels: ' Compost leaves, lawn clippings, and garbage whenever possible. Separate, recycle, and reuse plas tics, papers, and metal cans. j Dispose of garbage properly through roadside pickups. These alternatives are easy to fol low and do not require much of an adjustment. To make them effective the entire community's participation is necessary in order to provide for a safe and healthy environment for ev eryone. Reprinted from the March 1, 1998 issue of the EPA REGION 10 TRIBAL NEWS LETTER, which was originally printed in the Iroquois Environmental Newsletter and written by Rae Seymour and Tom Pogul. Note from Kathleen Feehan, Tribal Environmental Specialist: As a reminder to residents in the Grand Ronde area, there is a Com munity Recycling Depot located be hind the Public Works and Housing Building at 25500 Grand Ronde Road. The Recycling Depot is open for community use, and accepts glass bottles, aluminum and tin cans, milk jugs, magazines, newsprint, and cor rugated cardboard. Please remem ber to RINSE all bottles, cans, and jugs. No lids or cover. Anyone interested in additional in formation about recycling or composting is encouraged to call En vironmental Resources at 879-2395. l :i :,'! Deputy enjoys Grand Ronde's community spirit By Tracy Dugan Eric Shepherd has been a on patrol in Grand Ronde for nearly a year. He was assigned to the area by the Polk County Sheriffs Department af ter Jeff VanLaanen was promoted last year. Deputy Shepherd works with Tom O'Brien, who has been in Grand Ronde for more than three years. Deputy Shepherd was accepted at the Reserve Academy in 1993, and spent eight months in training there. From there he went on Active Re serve, which includes Marine Patrol and working security. "I patrolled the Willamette River, and worked security at the Polk County Fair and Grand Ronde Tribal Pow-wow," he said. Active Reserve also includes spend ing time patrolling with a partner, who is usually an older, more experienced police officer. In 1996, Deputy Shepherd spent eight weeks at the Police Academy in Dallas, Oregon, and after that tested to work on patrol and at the Polk County jail. "I went to work on patrol," said Deputy Shepherd. "I covered every square mile of Polk County." Now he has been assigned to cover only Grand Ronde, and works from the Grand Ronde substation near Bunnsville. Besides patrol, the depu- i ties respond to calls in Grand Ronde, provide building security checks, visit local business and merchants, and at tend community functions. Shepherd is also a member of the Grand Ronde Service Integration Team. He has gotten to know many of the families, workers, and residents of Grand Ronde, which makes his job more personal. "I have gotten to know many of the people I have helped," he said. "That is the difference between working here and a big city." Shepherd said that in the city, offic ers and deputies follow-up on calls they handle, but often never know what the final outcome of a situation is. "Seeing the difference I can make. That's the rewarding part of working here."
