In thinking about the gargantuan number of point source pollution vectors in the greater Portland area that call to satisfy my interest of conducting further research, I have found myself consistently revisiting a factory that presents personal inflictions through a closeness to my own home and damage to what I love most. Located just fifteen minutes from the Lewis and Clark College campus, aerospace parts are being manufactured by a company who, “with few exceptions, every aircraft in the sky flies with parts made by PCC” (15). Producing worldwide for companies such as Boeing, GE, and Rolls-Royce, Precision Castparts has three plants in the greater Portland area [forty nationwide and 162 worldwide]: one in Clackamas, one in Milwaukie, and one in Southeast Portland on the Willamette Riverbank, all just blocks from residential neighborhoods (15). Yet, this Portland-based company was at the top of the list, ranking number one for being “the nation's top industrial air polluter, when accounting for toxicity and population exposure” according to a study conducted by researchers at the University of Massachusetts* * (16).
Through my own evening explorations of statistical analyses in various fields of environmental impact on (mostly) government hosted websites, I came across an archive of all complaints the Oregon DEQ (Department of Environmental Quality) has received in the the last twenty years, in addition to a visual mapping of all received from 2016-17 (12). In reviewing hot spots through the visual mapping, I noticed one area that contained numerous complaints on an industrial plant owned by Precision Castparts Corporation.* Additionally, all of these complaints were in a residential neighborhood, calling attention to noise, odor, and air pollutants that are threatening surrounding ecosystems and inhabitants of the nearby neighborhoods. Thus spurring my curiosity: Is this plant threatening the health of third parties of Portland, and if so, how and why is it able to do so?
The Johnson Creek Complex is made up of the LSBO (Large structural Business Operation) which has been in operation since 1957, the TBO (Titanium Business Operation) in operation by PCC since 1981, and the Neutralization Building, which was implemented in 1987 for on-site hazardous waste treatment. The three-plant complex produces nickel-based superalloy, titanium, stainless steel, and aluminum castings for aircraft engines and industrial gas turbines (18).* In order to produce these metal products, such as nickel-based superalloys, multi-step processes are used that involve melting to refine, purify, control chemicals and micro/macro structures, casting, and more. The process of investment casting alone also contains over twelve steps, which summates pouring a 1500° Celsius molten alloy into a ceramic mold, controlled through radiation heating and cooling processes. When finishing with the step of investment casting (the step most implemented by PCC at the Johnson Creek location), casts are touched up by leeching the ceramic cores using a “high-pressure autoclave by chemical means” before moving on to thermal sprays (5).
In carrying out these various elements involved in the process, the number of chemicals and amount produced/emitted is rather shocking once qualitatively bolstered in context (although I would say that they sound daunting even without sufficient context). Through self-reports, the plants have, on record, produced arsenic, nickel, nitrogen dioxide, hydrofluoric acid, and hexavalent chromium, among other things (10). The plant has also had two explosions, in 2011 and 2013, both resulting in large numbers of firefighters, police officers, and HazMat teams. The 2011 incident, in particular, resulted in a thick orangish plume, made of mainly nitrogen dioxide and hydrofluoric acid, rising in the residential neighborhood and forcing residents to stay indoors and limit exposure for over twenty-four hours. And PCC was fined less than $30,000 (11).
While the on-site Neutralization Building intakes the spent solutions of nitric and hydrofluoric acids, and potassium and sodium hydroxides for pH adjustment, filtering, and discharge to the industrial sewer system under permit, not everything is getting properly treated (18). Precision Castparts Corp. has been cited and/or fined repeatedly since the “1980s for violating hazardous waste-handling regulations designed to protect workers and the public” (9). At least once a year from 1987-1992, documentation by the DEQ has recorded violations of waste discharges in the form of spills, overflows, and dumping occurring in storm drains that lead to Johnson Creek. The violations ranged from drums of (often mislabeled) hazardous waste being stored outside for extended periods of time, to the detection of improper storage, documentation, and discharge of various wastes into groundwater, storm sewers, and soil beneath the site buildings.* These discharges included chlorinated solvents (PCE, TCE, etc.), metals including titanium, acids and bases including sodium hydroxides, hydrofluoric and nitric acids, radioactive thorium, as well as PCBs (18).
These improper treatments of hazardous wastes can have numerous effects on the surrounding environment. According to an interview with nearby neighborhood resident Melinda Jackson, Melinda used to grow various fruits and vegetables in the The Errol Heights Community Garden. Now, being located within the nickel hotspot surrounding the PCC complex, she doesn’t feel safe growing her own food (19). Additionally, one plaintiff of the lawsuit against PCC (read below to find out more), Debra Taevs, claims that while the home she bought there in 2007 was supposed to be her forever home (adding a chicken coop and variety of vegetation to the fixer-upper): “the excitement in creating and maintaining a beautiful and bountiful home has been reduced, and she has ceased engaging in outdoor gardening,” as she no longer feels safe spending time outside (8). And they shouldn’t either, as the U.S. Forest Service has, through studies conducted since 2013, provided data showing significant amounts of nickel in moss growing in the hot spot.
“Lacking roots, moss absorbs nutrients and water from the air around it, including any pollutants that are present. The moss incorporates these contaminants into itself as it grows, making a record of pollution in the surrounding air over time” (8).
Exposure to soil and groundwater, soil vapors, and contaminated water (especially in Johnson Creek) are all points of exposure that present concerns for employees, nearby residents, and the surrounding ecosystem.
Nickel, whether inhaled or ingested, can cause a wide range of medical issues, including immune system, reproductive, and developmental impacts, numerous pulmonary effects, renal edema (in both animals and humans), and cancer (9). Overexposure to arsenic has been known to increase the likelihood of lung, skin, bladder, and liver cancer, according to the EPA. And hexavalent chromium? Well, hexavalent chromium causes gastrointestinal effects in humans and animals, including abdominal pain, vomiting, and hemorrhage, and inhalation, or other chronic exposure, can inflict issues on gastrointestinal, immune, and blood systems, among other things (16). These issues presumably pose a cost of millions upon millions of dollars between treatment and loss of life (through well-being and mortality).
Although numerous fines and citings have been issued to Precision Castparts, there has been a need for further action. In 2016, six residents of Southeast Portland filed two separate class-action lawsuits against Precision Castparts Corp., alleging that its emissions of high levels of toxic materials have harmed their health and decreased property values, according to Keller Rohrback Law Offices (7). Claims relying on previously mentioned data gathered by the U.S. Forest Service and the DEQ, as well as housing prices and medical visits, all supported these notions. The DEQ also followed this with soil samplings, as well as the installation of three air monitors in August of the same year, in the close vicinity of Precision Castparts, to collect information on “a full set of air pollutants, including volatile organic compounds (VOCs), polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), carbonyls, particulate matter, and heavy metals” (10). The collecting of further data of occurring pollution will not, however, effectively force a dramatic change in the company that has failed, despite the immense amount of data already on record. In reflecting on what I believe to be a prominent threat to the public people of Portland, I assume that no company, especially one who is getting away with nothing more than ‘slaps on the wrist’ for such actions, operates without benefitting parties. So what benefits are produced that has allowed this Fortune 500 company to slink by, without halting production, in light of so many violations of obvious contamination?*
Being a Fortune 500 company (only one of three in Portland, including Lithia Motors and Nike), the publicly traded company was bought by Warren Buffett for $235 a share in 2016 (17). Precision Castparts was bought by Buffett for $37 billion, putting Berkshire Hathaway in charge. To put this purchase in perspective, total sales for Oregon Businesses in 2016 equaled just over $44 billion in total. The chief executive, Mark Donegan, makes $25.62 million a year, between salary and stock gains, and holds a $57 million stake in the company (1).
This 162-factory corporation employs 30,500 individuals, in turn benefitting families and communities by providing jobs for over 2,500 in Portland alone. Employees make up to $46,000 a year and receive benefits that include medical, dental, retirement, and bonuses. Additionally, they provide more than $3 million in annual property taxes, which goes to various public schools and other services. The company also participates in local outreach by supporting various programs at De La Salle High School, Clackamas Community College, Mt. Hood Community College, Oregon Institute of Technology, Oregon State University, Portland State University, University of Oregon, and University of Portland, as well as dozens of community organizations through grants, and scholarships. Plus, through bonuses, the company encourages their employees to volunteer in the local community with groups such as the American Red Cross, the Boys & Girls Club of America, Clackamas Women’s Services, Johnson Creek Watershed Council, Impact Northwest, and SMART (Start Making A Reader Today). Lastly, they boast that since partnering with Portland General Electric and the Energy Trust of Oregon, the PCC Johnson Creek complex at has reduced their electricity use by over 10 million kilowatt hours, which equivalents to not driving over 16 million miles (14).
In addition to investors and employees, the company’s success has benefitted numerous customers. Various aviation and aerospace customers at large, both public (government) and private, benefit by receiving cheaper prices in exchange for [presumably] cheaper production and high quality. The prices can even reflect on medical patients who receive PCC manufactured parts during hip and knee replacements. The avoidance of spending more on waste disposal and emissions controls could supposedly, reflect lower prices for all involved customers down the grapevine (14).
Following the 2011 explosion, the company took steps to prevent a similar ‘rare’ occurrence, through increased NOx monitoring systems and upgraded electrical systems. However, no part of their production or emissions process was changed immediately. But, despite the various benefactors and ‘smoke and mirrors’ (various small fixes to prevent obvious pollution excess), Precision Castparts has slowly been nudged into the action of filtration improvements and safer disposal. In both 2008 and 2013, PCC requested Remedial Investigations, where they were again, and again, cited for continuously excessive levels of emitted toxic pollutants and improper waste disposal. In response, years of intense monitoring of the Johnson Creek has since taken place. Through citizen complaints, lawsuits, study highlights, and protests, Precision Castparts Corp gained momentum into the realm of bad publicity, ostracizing them from the community where they were using residents’ homes and lives as a dumping site for economic gain, and losing obvious local support (9). Finally, emission reductions from the Johnson Creek plant resulted.
In 2015, the city took a multi-million dollar initiative to clean the site stormwater conveyance system, which was then put under construction to provide updates that will hopefully help to prevent further contamination. The city has also spent millions on investigating, regulating, and cleaning the company’s mess, not to mention time and money spent on law suits and fine/violation servings (3). Precision Castparts Corp, however, seems to be taking the new brunt of the force in regards to paying the prevention costs. In 2014-15, the PCC Johnson Creek Complex invested just under $11 million on air and water quality control equipment that somehow contributed to environmental benefits (such as $4.2 million on systems to capture and treat rainwater), and in 2016, they spent just under $6 million on air emission upgrades (14). In the upgrade of stormwater filters. Precision Castparts Corp installed end-of-pipe filtration systems and followed with construction of new pumping stations and piping that will segregate their stormwater from the flow of stormwater that comes from nearby ponds As part of the improvements, cyclone filters, baghouses, and HEPA filters have all been implemented to reduce air emissions . Baghouses are filtration units usually put on smokestacks. They are used to collect dust that can then be properly disposed of (14). In an interview with 2016 vice president Jay Khetani, he claimed that:
"Following the upgrades, we will remove across categories 99 percent of any emissions that are created. It is even higher on key components that community members are concerned about, including nickel and chromium. It will be nearly 100 percent capture of those items.” -Jay Khetani
Baghouses cost around $30,000 each time they are filled and filters replaced. With over 30 of those, the company looks at close to million dollar costs.
Finally, in hopes of making reparations with the local community while they continue to operate in such close proximity to residential neighborhood, they have taken steps to reconnect and find belonging. In addition to benefitting and supporting the above mentioned schools and local groups, as well as providing jobs, Precision Castparts holds quarterly meetings with Local Emergency Planning Commission in Portland to assure preparedness and safety. PCC has also had representatives attend local city council meetings and continues to host smaller neighborhood meetings with groups such as the Brentwood-Darlington Neighborhood Association, to listen to community members’ concerns. Finally, Precision Castparts Corp launched a website separate from their parent website, called ‘pccstructuralscommunity.com,’ which hopes to provide open communication and information with individuals in regards to steps the company has taken for the comfort of the community (14). As Precision Castparts continues to take steps in the right direction, operations continue. The “DEQ is currently working on air quality permits and has a goal to renew them in early 2019,” but are they really worth the economic gain without proper environmental respect? (9) It os worth stating that the permits will require a reduction in permitted emission. Nonetheless, perhaps a large industrial plant that works with such chemicals should not be located in a residential neighborhood, or anywhere near one for that matter.
Footnotes-
*The ranking combines measures of pounds released with toxicity of pollutants and population exposure to yield a score for each company. One-third of Precision's score comes from three Portland-area factories that emit cobalt and cobalt compounds.
*PCC released a statement addressing the “deeply flawed” nature of the study, claiming false levels and use of data (3).
*Hot spots are areas of significant activity.
*As PCC’s slogan states, they are “a worldwide, diversified manufacturer of complex metal components and products” (15).
*Extended periods of time refer to more than ninety days.
*When the 2011 explosion occurred at the LSBO, the titanium plant next door (still in the Johnson Creek Complex) continued operations so as to save millions of dollars in products, despite the HazMat and evacuation alarms.
*Remedial Investigations help to redeem a company of a previous ‘bad’ score in regards to emissions.
*Cyclone filters are used to capture larger size particulates, and generally are used in conjunction with baghouses (14).
* HEPA filter are used to capture very small particulates, and are generally used on baghouse outlets to handle metal dust (14).
References-
1. “CEO Compensation.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, www.forbes.com/lists/2012/12/ceo-compensation-12_Mark-Donegan_0S7V.html.
2. Coleman, Jack. “Toxic 100 Study By PERI Deeply Flawed According To Review By Precision Castparts.” Precision Castparts Corp., PCC, 28 Aug. 2013, web.archive.org/web/20160303231404/http://koin.com/2013/08/29/precision-castparts-pollution-study-deeply-flawed/.
3. Criblez, Matthew. “Working For Clean Rivers: Regulatory Environment.” City Budget Office, Environmental Services: City of Portland, 4 Apr. 2017, www.portlandoregon.gov/cbo/.
4. Cronin, James. “4 Questions with Precision Castparts' Portland GM on the Company's Pollution Controls.” Industries and Topics, Portland Business Journal, 27 May 2016, www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2016/05/4-questions-with-precision-castparts-portland-gm.html.
5. El-Bagoury, Nader. (2016). NI BASED SUPERALLOY: CASTING TECHNOLOGY, METALLURGY, DEVELOPMENT, PROPERTIES AND APPLICATIONS. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES & RESEARCH TECHNOLOGY. 5: 108-129. https://www.researchgate.net/publication/299553494
6. Giegerich , Andy. “DEQ: Latest Precision Castparts Tests Indicate No Public Threat.” Bizjournals.com, The Business Journals, 9 Sept. 2016, 9:11am, www.bizjournals.com/portland/blog/sbo/2016/09/deq-latest-precision-castparts-tests-indicate-no.html.
7. “Investigating Claims Against Precision Castparts For Heavy Metal Pollution in Oregon.” Keller Rohrback | Complex Litigation Law Firm, Keller Rohrback, 10 Aug. 2016, www.krcomplexlit.com/2016/04/kr-investigating-claims-precision-castparts-heavy-metal-pollution-oregon/.
8. Koberstein, Paul. “Neighbors File Suits against Precision Castparts Corp.” Portland Tribune, Pamplin Media, 13 July 2016, pamplinmedia.com/pt/9-news/314811-193218-neighbors-file-suits-against-precision-castparts-corp.
9. Koberstein, Paul. “Protesters Target Precision Castparts.” Sustainable Life, Pamplin Media, 31 Mar. 2016, pamplinmedia.com/sl/299795-176898-protesters-target-precision-cast-parts.
10. Kriser, Katie. “Precision Castparts Corp. Monitering Updates.” Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon.gov, 2016, www.oregon.gov/deq/Programs/Pages/Precision-Castparts-Corp.aspx.
11. Learn, Scott. “After a Night of Tension, Confusion and a Toxic Cloud, Precision Castparts in Oregon Says It Will Make Changes to Prevent a Repeat.” The Oregonian, Oregon Live, 7 Aug. 2011, www.oregonlive.com/environment/index.ssf/2011/08/after_a_night_of_tension_confu.html.
12. “Oregon DEQ Pollution Complaints.” KGW, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, 2017, design.kgwcreative.com/07-18-deq/explore/.
13. Oregon Health Authority. “Public Health Assessment: Precision Castparts Corporation (PCC).” Edited by Environmental Health Assessment Program et al., Oregon.gov, Oregon Health Authority, 29 Oct. 2018, www.oregon.gov/oha/PH/HEALTHYENVIRONMENTS/TRACKINGASSESSMENT/ENVIRONMENTALHEALTHASSESSMENT/Documents/Public
14. Precision Castparts Corp. “PCC Structurals Community.” PCC Structurals Community, Precisions Castparts Corp., 2016, pccstructuralscommunity.com/.
15. Precision Castparts. “Welcome to Precision Castparts Corp.” PCC, 2018, www.precast.com/.
16. Read, Richard. “Portland's Precision Castparts Ranked Nation's Top Industrial Air Polluter in University of Massachusetts Study.” The Oregonian, Oregon Live, 26 Aug. 2013, www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2013/08/portlands_precision_castparts_2.html.
17. Rogoway, Mike. “Precision Castparts' $37 Billion Sale Is Final: It's Now in Warren Buffett's Hands.” The Oregonian , Oregon Live, 29 Jan. 2016, www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2016/01/precision_castparts_sale_is_fi.html.
18. Seidel, Paul. “(ECSI) Database Site.” Department of Environmental Quality, Oregon DEQ, 2018, www.deq.state.or.us/lq/ECSI/ecsidetail.asp?seqnbr=274.
19. Templeton, Amelia. “Meet The Worried Neighbors Of Precision Castparts.” Oregon Public Broadcasting, Boise State Public Radio/Idaho Public Television, 15 Apr. 2016, www.opb.org/news/series/portland-oregon-air-pollution-glass/precision-castparts-neighbors/.
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