According to the 2025 Annual Report of the American Lung Association, fifty-five years after the passage of the landmark Clean Air Act, nearly half of US residents breathe unhealthy air. One significant contribution to this problem is the inadequacy of the regulatory apparatus. Jan Haaken and Patricia Kullberg talk about how the rules and regulations governing industrial emissions of airborne toxics are structured more to facilitate industrial operations than to protect the public health. Jan Haaken is a local film-maker and director of the documentary Necessity: Climate Justice and the Thin Green Line, which takes up the jury trial against activists who staged an act of civil disobedience at Zenith in 2019. Patricia Kullberg is a board member of Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility and is active around air quality issues in Portland.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is currently considering a new Air Contaminant Discharge Permit for Zenith Energy in Portland. Despite Zenith’s significant contribution to air pollution in North/Northwest Portland, what we may hear from DEQ is that their hands are tied. DEQ is holding an in person public hearing for people to comment on Zenith’s air quality permit tonight, May 12 at the Buckley Center Auditorium, University of Portland, 5000 N. Willamette Blvd at 6:30 PM, preceded by a rally at 6 PM. People may also join the event via zoom. A virtual hearing via zoom will also be held on May 15, 6-8:30 PM. Zoom links to join either event can be found on the DEQ Public Involvement webpage. The deadline for submission of written comments about the permit is 5 PM, May 30. Comments may be submitted online at https://ordeq-edms-public.govonlinesaas.com/pub/pub-rcd/submittals/review/7/56698;tab=cmt or can be emailed to [email protected].
Image by Mohamed Hassan and licensed for public use: https://www.stockvault.net/photo/260600/air-pollution-illustration