Welcome to the Homepage of the
Our mission is to document and publicize patterns of pollution that are
occurring in Portland, Oregon. We gather information on pollution from
official sources, and then create reports designed to inform residents and
workers about potential hazards posed by certain kinds of pollution. We
do this not to harm the image of any local company or region of town, but
to increase pressure to reduce all pollution so that we all can live and work
in the cleanest and healthiest environment possible.
Our current report has answers to these kinds of questions:
1) What Portland company was the largest emitter of known carcinogens?
2) What Portland company was the largest emitter of known organ toxins?
3) Which parts of Portland experienced the highest rates of industrial
pollution?
4) Are communities of color and low-income residents being disproportionately
exposed to toxic pollution in Portland?
The current report, Pollution in Portland: Toxic Emissions in the Metropolitan Area
(2005 Edition), examines data from the TRI database for the year
2002 (the most recent year for which information is available). Copies
of the report are free, and can be found at these websites:
HTML version (best for viewing):
Pollution in Portland
2005 (html)
Adobe Acrobat PDF version (best for printing): Pollution in Portland
2005 (pdf)
Hard copies can be requested from the lead investigator.
The Portland Pollution Research group is made up of researchers at Lewis
and Clark College. The lead investigator is Bruce Podobnik, a faculty
member affiliated with the Departments of Sociology and Environmental Studies.
The other members of the research team are listed in the annual report.
Questions or concerns should be directed to Professor Podobnik.
Bruce Podobnik, Ph.D.
Departments of Sociology and Environmental Studies
Lewis and Clark College
Portland, Oregon 97219
(503) 768-7664
podobnik@lclark.edu