News-Times Wednesday, May 30, 2012 Phone: 503-357-3181 www.fgnewstimes.com NEWS A17

kidneys and nervous system. Children are especially vulner-able to long-term health prob-lems.

Confl icting studiesIn 2005, the DEQ took an in-

ventory of air toxics and plane emissions prior to take-off. The model used in that study pre-dicted that a large amount of lead settled in the air around the airport.

“In the 2005 model the as-sumption was that the emis-sions were all occurring at the ground level,” said Sarah Ar-mitage, natural resource spe-cialist for the DEQ.

That brought the projected lead level in 2005 to about .25 micrograms per cubic meter of air, much higher than the DEQ-approved .15 benchmark.

But this year, the DEQ re-leased its Portland Air Toxics Solution project, which mod-eled levels of lead in the air sur-rounding the Hillsboro Airport for 2005 and 2017.

While the 2005 estimate found the amount of lead in the air to be dangerous, the new study put the emissions below the benchmark, sparking a fresh dispute between citizen activists and the Port of Port-land.

Miki Barnes, president of Or-egon Aviation Watch, a group that pushes for reductions in aviation’s impact on neighbors like her, was immediately con-cerned by the initial 2005 study.

Barnes thinks the high lead emission is mostly because of the popularity of Hillsboro’s fl ight school. Barnes said for-eign pilots also frequent the school, essentially importing what Barnes sees as highly pol-luting activity into Oregon from other countries.

“I do believe it’s because of this enormous amount of fl ight training,” Barnes said. “It just seems to me that those other countries are probably delight-ed to dump some of their pollu-tion and some of their noise.”

The flight pilots practice touch-and-go maneuvers, which require pilots to land on a runway and take off again without stopping, which Barnes said contributes to the amount of lead emitted near the ground and closer to where people live.

“This means most likely that a four-to-fi ve mile radius is be-ing subjected to an enormous amount of lead toxicity,” Barnes said.

Barnes said the Hillsboro Airport supports the flight training simply to make a prof-it, at the expense of the airport’s neighbors.

Offi cials at the Port of Port-land say otherwise.

“I don’t know that it’s fair to characterize the Port as ‘We want more students because we want more money for the air-port,’” said Kama Simonds, a spokesperson for the Port of Portland. “People tend to go where the job is and where the training is. Hillsboro Airport is a great facility.”

Different data shows lower threat

The DEQ’s projected lead lev-els in 2017 show that the emis-sions may not be as startling as Oregon Aviation Watch thinks. The 2017 modeled data showed that the airport’s lead emis-sions were possibly not over the benchmark level.

Armitage said the 2017 projec-tion was based off the air during flight patterns, which showed that the lead emissions were not above the benchmark because the lead was diluted as the planes travelled through air.

“We adjusted to make it more realistic and more accurate,” Armitage said. “It had the real-ization that the pollution was more vertically and horizontal-ly distributed.”

But for the 2017 emissions es-timate, the DEQ incorporated data from a 2010 study by Port of Portland’s own contractor, which used a more complex model than the DEQ study.

Barnes said that the DEQ ac-cepted the Port of Portland’s findings without ever testing them.

“One concern is that the Port did not include ground run-ups in their study, which according to the EPA are major contribu-tors to lead emissions in the vi-cinity of an airport,” Barnes said. “It is also worth factoring in the inherent bias of a study commissioned by the Port given that the sole purpose of the Port by statute is to promote marine and aviation activity.”

Armitage defends the updat-ed study, saying the 2017 model

using the Port’s fi ndings relied on the best information avail-able.

“We were actually applying what we believe were more ac-curate assumptions,” Armit-age said.

The DEQ does acknowledge that the planes emit lead, though they can’t pin down at what level it is affecting the community.

“We know it’s in the fuel so we have an easily identified source,” said William Knight, a DEQ spokesperson. “Now it’s a question of how much risk is involved for the people.”

Knight also pointed out that pollution in the area — which includes the heavily congested Highway 26, a network of busy commuter corridors and heavy industrial sites — is a combina-tion of other elements besides lead.

“To put it in perspective, it would be curious to see what the level of auto emissions are compared to lead emissions,” Knight said. “In overall health risks it could pale in compari-son to the auto emissions we spew every day.”

Federal jurisdictionSimonds said the Port is

aware that lead is found in the airplane gas, but they have no control over the issue.

“We don’t have the authority to regulate the types of air-crafts that use our airport nor do we have the ability to regu-late what type of fuel our planes use,” she said. “The problem is to be fi xed a national level.”

The Federal Aviation Associ-ation is responsible for the level of lead in aviation fuel, and so far have not regulated it, said Ian Gregor, the public affairs manager for the FAA’s Pacifi c division. However, he said in an email that the FAA is looking into the problem.

“The current FAA adminis-tration has established an avia-tion rulemaking committee to evaluate the feasibility of, and approaches to, transitioning to the use of unleaded aviation gasoline without compromising safety,” Gregor said.

Simonds also said that she does not want to form an an-tagonistic relationship with Or-egon Aviation Watch, and in-stead hopes the group’s efforts are redirected towards the na-tional stage.

“One of our roles also would be to help our community un-derstand that this is a federal issue, and to guide that energy and enthusiasm for fi xing the problem and solving the prob-lem to the right spot,” she said.

The DEQ hopes to someday be able to use a monitor near the airport so it can gather more exact data. Armitage said there is a big difference be-tween modeling data and using an air monitor. Budget cuts have made it harder for the DEQ to afford the equipment, and they would need a grant to fund it.

“Monitoring is a limited re-source,” Armitage said. “I think we are defi nitely interested to know if there is a problem with lead.”

Some of the students wrote letters and presented them to her during the ceremony, which dedicated the tree in Ryley’s memory.

Blanchard said when she and Hope Gallinger-Long, Ryley’s widow, and his older brother Zack, started to read the letters they had to stop. The contents were too moving.

“You can tell from what they wrote they really got it,” Blanchard said of the kids.

Veterans park taking shapeJust a half-mile away from the

school a different kind of memo-

rial is taking shape.Amber Gilley and a group of

citizens, including Zack Gallinger-Long, have managed to secure funding for a fl ag pole and new signage at Cornelius’ Arboretum Park, located at 1251 Baseline St. With the city’s blessing, the park is now called Veterans Memorial Park, in honor of the city’s lost soldiers, sailors and pilots.

The park will have a formal dedication ceremony at 10 a.m., Saturday, June 30. A week ahead of the birthday of Ryley Gall-inger-Long, July 4, and Kenny Leisten, another Cornelius sol-dier killed in action in Iraq. Leisten was born July 5, 1984.

Leisten was in the same Na-tional Guard unit as Gilley’s hus-band, Dave, more than seven years ago. When Leisten was killed in July 2004 in an Impro-vised Explosive Device (IED) blast in Iraq, Gilley began to think about a memorial park. Leisten, the first soldier from Cornelius killed in Iraq, was re-membered in memorials across the state.

Following the massive com-munity outpouring last year in response to the death of Gall-inger-Long in Afghanistan, Gil-ley’s dream of a memorial park in Cornelius has fi nally become a reality.

All you have to do is tell us in 75 words

or less why “My Dad Is The Best Dad”

You can enter by mailing or bringing this

form to: Best Dad Contest 2038 Pacifi c

Ave., Forest Grove, Or 97116. Or you can

email your submission to Happenings@

fgnewstimes.com. All entries must be

received no later than Thursday, June 7,

2012 at 3 p.m. Winner will be announced in

the June 13 edition of the News-Times.

HEY KIDS!Enter our “Why My Dad is the Best

Dad” essay contest and you could

win a prize for you and your Dad!

“My dad (_______________________________) is the best because...”_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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E S S A Y C O N T E S T

Lead: Without monitor, no clear answer■ From page 1

By JOHN SCHRAGThe News-Times

Those who attended a pair of Memorial Day ceremonies in Forest Grove on Monday were momentarily trans-ported to another small hamlet, Grover’s Corners, made famous in Thorton Wilder’s 1938 play, “Our Town.”

Forest Grove Mayor Pete Truax, a former English teach-er, spoke briefl y at a morning

gathering at Forest View Cem-etery and, shortly after, at the flag-raising ceremony on the east side of town. On each occa-sion, he read an excerpt from Wilder’s fi nal act, in which a New Hampshire stage manager describes the town cemetery:

“Over there are some Civil War veterans. Iron flags on their graves, New Hampshire boys had a notion that the Union ought to be kept together, though they’d never seen more than fi fty miles of it themselves. All they knew was the name, friends — the United States of America. The United States of America. And they went and died for it.”

Speakking at the fl ag-raising

ceremony, Truax said the star-spangled banner means differ-ent things to different people.

“To some,” he said, “it is a beacon of hope and honor. To others it is a sign of a debt still to be paid, of freedom, respect and equality still to be granted. But even in that sense of disap-pointment, there is the sense that the fl ag is part of what is right about this country.

“But on this day,” the mayor continued, “it serves to remind us of those who made the ulti-mate sacrifice, paid the ulti-mate price. Take time to re-member them today. And re-member those who still serve, on that distant outpost far from family, far from home.”

Two events take to heart sacrifi ce made by soldiers

Memorial Day remembers fallen vets

COURTESY PHOTO

While the 2009 study showed two blips of lead on the regionwide map, with most of the chemical focused in Hillsboro (above), a later study suggested that lead levels weren’t unsafe.

The color guard procession is a feature of the Memorial Day ceremony at Forest View Cemetery held each year in Forest Grove.NEWS-TIMES PHOTO: NANCY TOWNSLEY

Ryley: Park is nearly complete■ From page 1

Pet of theWeek

SQUIRRELNAPPED!Rosie and Gabby caught a squirrel — or so they think. He may have caught them snoozing.

Rosie (the white one) and Gabby live with Ken and Kris Bilderback in Gaston.Rosie is a 10-year-old “miracle kitty” from the Oregon Humane Society that is living with a

heart condition known as cardiomyopathy. Gabby is a four-year-old rescue kitty from Cornelius Veterinary Clinic, Ken reports.

“Gabby adores Rosie and has helped her stay alive and vibrant,” Bilderback said.For being selected as this week’s Pet of the Week, Gabby and Rosie’s owners get a a $25

custom framing gift certifi cate at A Framer’s Touch (AFT), 1910 21st Ave. in Forest Grove. Stop by and see how your favorite pet, family or vacation photo looks in a new frame.

NEWS-TIMES PHOTO: CHASE ALLGOOD

Echo Shaw Elementary School students and staff celebrate the life of Riley Gallinger-Long with his family.