PORT TOWNSEND — The data collected from a yearlong air quality test in Jefferson County has yet to be analyzed but is expected to conclude that the local atmosphere does not contain a significant amount of pollution.
“It was not our intent to measure the areas with the worst pollution,” said Odelle Hadley, a senior air monitoring specialist working for the Olympic Region Clean Air Agency (ORCAA), which conducted the tests.
“We wanted to take a reading of the entire region, taking into account wind speed and direction, to determine an average.”
Hadley said the air quality on the North Olympic Peninsula “is generally really good.”
Hadley said continuous monitoring of local ambient air helps the agency promote clean air through its jurisdiction, which includes Jefferson, Clallam, Thurston, Mason, Grays Harbor and Pacific counties.
To present results
Hadley will present the results of the Jefferson County Saturation Study at 2:30 p.m. March 26 at the Cotton Building, 607 Water St.
The free event will begin with Hadley’s presentation, followed by a question-and-answer period.
Due to costs, ORCAA runs the saturation study in one county at a time.
Clallam County study
The Clallam County Saturation Study was concluded in 2014 and the Jefferson County study concluded in 2015. The equipment is now deployed in Thurston County.
The tests measure particulate matter in terms of milligrams per cubic feet of the atmosphere, with the number reflecting the weight of the particulate were it to be removed from the air.
The dangerous level is an annual average of 12.5 milligrams per cubic foot, or a 24-hour average exceeding 35 milligrams per cubic foot.
The combined annual average from the four Jefferson County stations was 5.8 milligrams per cubic foot.
The test took place between May 2014 and May 2015, with the data collected at four Port Townsend-area locations.
ORCAA has installed a permanent air quality monitor at Blue Heron Middle School that was not part of the study — although during the test, an additional monitor was installed there.
The other three locations were Jefferson County Mental Health, the East Jefferson Fire-Rescue station on Jacob Miller Road and in Chimacum.
Wood-burning stoves
Hadley said the Clallam County data showed pollution spikes in the late afternoon and early morning, corresponding to when families used wood-burning stoves.
Even so, the stove-driven totals did not reflect dangerous particulate levels.
Hadley said the air in Port Townsend can be cleaner than in Port Angeles, as Port Townsend is on a bay “where the wind pushes everything around,” while Port Angeles’ topography can trap air in a valley.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency has established limits that represent dangerous pollution levels that neither Clallam nor Jefferson County approached.
Local governments have the option to act on the data results, but ORCAA won’t step in with enforcement recommendations unless the amounts exceed the dangerous level.
While ORCAA is paying close attention to particulate matter originating from the Port Townsend Paper Co., Hadley does not think the mill represents a significant pollution source.
“There is a perception that if you can smell something really bad, it must be really bad,” Hadley said.
“While the [mill] odor can be annoying, you can’t always detect high particulate content through smell.”
The ORCAA website displays up-to-the-minute data for seven locations, viewable at http://tinyurl.com/PDN-particulate.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
