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March 2, 2023
Media contacts: Jonathan Modie, 971-246-9139, PHD.Communications@oha.oregon.gov
PORTLAND, Ore.— The Environmental Health Assessment Program (EHAP) at Oregon Health Authority (OHA) is releasing a J.H. Baxter & Co. health consultation draft report with summary fact sheets and is accepting public comment on the documents through June 2, 2023.
The documents are available for viewing and download here. The health consultation report outlines OHA’s analysis of community health risks related to industrial pollution caused by J.H. Baxter, a now-closed wood treatment facility in Eugene.
In September 2021 and May 2022, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency collected surface soil samples from residential yards and other areas further from the facility. Both rounds of sampling showed levels of dioxin in soil above health-based screening concentrations in seven residential yards.
Dioxins are environmental pollutants, in this case likely the byproduct of J.H. Baxter’s operations over the past seven decades.
To address community concerns about the health risks of exposure to dioxin, OHA evaluated data from soil taken from residential areas north of the facility and documented its conclusions and recommendations in the health consultation report.
The report concludes that:
- Soil with dioxin concentrations over 40 parts per trillion (ppt) could harm the health of children younger than 6 who come in contact with bare soil regularly for one year or longer.
- If backyard chickens live in residential yards where the soil has dioxin levels above 4.7 ppt, it could be harmful to eat eggs laid by those chickens. This health risk is for people of all ages and backgrounds.
- There is no health risk from exposures shorter than one year.
- The increased cancer risk from long-term or chronic exposures to dioxins from J.H. Baxter is low.
The public comment period for the health consultation is open now through June 2, 2023. OHA will host a public meeting April 22 at Petersen Barn Community Center in Eugene to answer questions from the public about the health consultation findings; more details about the meeting will be shared in the coming weeks. Comments can be emailed to ehap.info@oha.oregon.gov or mailed to the following address:
Oregon Health Authority – EHAP
800 Oregon St., Suite 640
Portland, OR 97232
For more information, visit EHAP’s J.H. Baxter page.
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