NEWS
Wednesday, november 17, 2021
HermIsTonHeraLd.Com • A7
Thanksgiving travel projected to
bounce back to pre-pandemic levels
aaa predicts hundreds
of thousands of
oregonians to travel by
car and plane
By DAVIS CARBAUGH
eo media Group
Hermiston Herald, File
McNary Dam in Umatilla is among the 150 sites selected by the
Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and Oregon
Health Authority for water sampling to test for the presence
of PFAS contamination.
OHA, DEQ set
to monitor 150
drinking water
systems
PFas, called ‘forever chemicals,’ are
thought to present a danger to humans
By ALEX WITTWER
eo media Group
The state of Oregon
plans to test 150 drinking
water systems across the
state for the presence of
PFAS, or per- and poly-flu-
orinated substances.
PFAS are a family of
chemicals that do not
break down in the envi-
ronment or in human bod-
ies. These “forever chemi-
cals” are linked to cancer,
reduced fertility in women
and delayed develop-
ment in infants and chil-
dren, among other adverse
health effects.
The chemicals have
been used since the 1940s
and are found in thousands
of household and commer-
cial items, such as nonstick
pots and pans, waterproof
clothing and firefighting
foam agents.
Of those 150 sites to
be tested, 17 are in North-
eastern Oregon, includ-
ing 11 in Umatilla County
and two in Union County.
Baker, Grant, Morrow and
Wallowa counties each
have one testing site.
“We took a look at all
the small public water sys-
tems, those that serve fewer
than 10,000 because the
big ones have already been
sampled, and we looked at
places where there might
have been potential —
and I’m underlying poten-
tial — PFAS sources,”
said Harry Esteve, com-
munication manager for
the Oregon Department
of Environmental Quality.
“We overlaid those on the
maps of water systems and
selected that list of 150.”
The Northeastern Ore-
gon testing sites include the
cities of Irrigon, Pendleton,
Milton-Freewater, Elgin,
John Day and Joseph.
Also among the sites
are the Ash Grove cement
manufacturing site in
Baker City, the Amazon
data center in Umatilla
and the Sacajawea Mobile
Home Park in La Grande.
Results from the first
few collection sites should
be finished and analyzed
by the end of November.
Of the 150 sites across the
state, only 20 have been
sampled so far, according
to Esteve.
“Samples from the first
20 public water systems
have been collected. We
made a list of the 150 we
are going to sample even-
tually, over time, but we
started with 20 — and
frankly we started with
those because they were
kind of near our lab, which
is in Hillsboro,” Esteve
said. “So we can get out
there quickly and get some
results a little bit more
quickly. Travel is still a lit-
tle bit on the iffy side, given
the delta variant.”
Testing then and now
This is not the first time
Oregon has tested its water
systems for the presence
of the chemicals. Between
2013 and 2015, a study
from the Oregon Health
Authority tested all major
public drinking water sys-
tems in Oregon cities with
more than 10,000 residents
and did not detect harm-
ful amounts of the PFAS
chemicals included in the
testing. So far, Oregonians
do not seem to be exposed
to these chemicals in
harmful amounts through
their water, according to
the OHA.
According to the OHA,
some plants, such as
grasses, can absorb con-
tamination when they are
fertilized with PFAS-con-
taminated material from
wastewater
treatment
plants.
This has resulted in
cows producing contam-
inated milk in some dairy
farms in the U.S. There
also is evidence that when
surface water is contami-
nated, certain PFAS com-
pounds can accumulate in
fish.
In the 2013-15 study,
65 sites were tested for six
PFAS chemicals. The Ore-
gon DEQ and the Oregon
Health Authority now are
testing 150 sites for up to
25 PFAS chemicals. The
partnership between the
DEQ and OHA seeks to
crack down on PFAS con-
tamination that could end
up in drinking water, a
primary concern to both
agencies.
“The most likely path-
way into the human body
is through drinking water,
and that’s why we’re doing
this proactively — taking a
look and seeing what’s in
the water,” Esteve said.
Roads may be heav-
ily congested again for this
year’s Thanksgiving trav-
els, according to projec-
tions from the American
Automobile Association.
AAA predicts that 53.4
million Americans will
travel for the holiday,
which is a rise of 13% from
the numbers in 2020. With
travel numbers nearing
that of 2019, the projected
boost in travel is expected
to be the largest single-year
increase since 2005.
“Travel is again high
on the list for Americans
who are looking forward to
spending time with family
and friends this Thanksgiv-
ing,” AAA Public Affairs
Director Marie Dodds said.
“But it means travelers
should plan for roads and
airports to be noticeably
more crowded than what
we experienced during the
pandemic.”
The projections from
AAA show that roughly
16.2% of the entire Amer-
ican population will travel
for Thanksgiving, while
approximately 17.7% of
Oregon citizens will tra-
verse. That percentage
comes out to about 746,000
Oregonians traveling for
turkey day.
In 2019, approximately
49.9 million Americans
Alex Wittwer/EO Media Group, File
Semis and other vehicles line Island Avenue in La Grande on Wednesday, Nov. 3, 2021,
waiting to get back on the road. An early accident on I-84 east of Pendleton blocked
westbound lanes at around 9:30 a.m. State transportation officials are predicting road
congestion over the Thanksgiving holiday season as well.
Gas prices are roughly $1
more per gallon than during
last year’s Thanksgiving
holiday.
“Gas prices aren’t keep-
ing people home,” Dodds
said. “Those who need to
trim expenses will do so in
other ways such as limit-
ing dining out and looking
for more budget-friendly
choices in accommodations
and other activities.”
Upon travel returning
to a fuller extent this year,
AAA is reporting that hotel
rates are up nearly 50% and
rental car rates have risen
by about 4%.
The top travel spots for
AAA Oregon members are
Anaheim, Fort Lauderdale,
Orlando, San Diego and
Maui.
traveled by automobile, 4.6
million flew and 1.5 million
traveled by public transpor-
tation. Due to a severe drop
in travel due to COVID-19
in 2020, roughly 5.5 mil-
lion less automobile trav-
elers hit the road and air
travel was cut in half by just
over two million.
As this Thanksgiving
approaches, AAA predicts
that 652,000 Oregonians
will travel via automobile
and 86,000 will fly.
A steep rise in gasoline
prices over the last year is
having an impact on pro-
jections, but not to a large
extent. AAA notes that the
gas prices are not seen as
a means to limiting travel,
as those hitting the road
will cut costs elsewhere.
According to AAA, the
organization will receive
roughly 8,200 calls for road
assistance over the holiday.
The top issues typically
involve dead batteries, flat
tires and lockouts.
AAA urges caution
and planning ahead for
this Thanksgiving, not-
ing that busy roads and air-
ports should be expected.
According to the organiza-
tion’s website, those who
travel by airplane should
expect full flights.
The official Thanksgiv-
ing holiday travel period
is defined as Nov. 24-28.
AAA predicts that the
busiest travel days will
take place on the Tues-
day and Wednesday before
Thanksgiving.
Drawings every 30 minutes
Fridays and Saturdays, 7–9pm
48 points per entry, including Table Games, Keno, Bingo and Poker.
Paying for the test
A grant through the fed-
eral Environmental Protec-
tion Agency is paying for
the analysis, and the DEQ’s
laboratory will analyze the
drinking water samples for
25 PFAS compounds, at no
cost to local cities.
If tested, most people in
the U.S. would be found to
have PFAS in their blood,
according to the Oregon
Health Authority. How-
ever, testing for PFAS
exposure is expensive, and
not likely to be covered by
insurance.
According to OHA,
long-term exposure to
PFAS chemicals can affect
growth,
learning
and
behavior of infants and
children, interfere with the
body’s hormones, increase
cholesterol levels, affect
the immune system and
increase the risk of some
kinds of cancer.
The DEQ has not yet
set a date for the comple-
tion of the testing in the
150 Oregon locations.
Results from testing can
take upward of a month
between collection and a
finished analysis, accord-
ing to Esteve.
“This is the pilot. These
first 20 we want to see
how that goes,” Esteve
said. “And then based on
how that worked and what
results we get, that will
inform the timetable going
forward.
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