Portland State Magazine Fall 2016

FALL 2016 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 5 ( S W HALL BLV D N I N T E R S T A TE AVE SW M ACAD A M AVE S W T E R W ILLIGE R B LVD N DENVER A VE SW C A NYON R D N W CORNELL RD S W BARBU R BLVD S W S C H O LLS FE R RY R D SE GRAND A VE S W MURR A Y BL V D W BU R N SI D E ST SW CLAY ST NE COUCH ST ST JOHNS BRG NW 18TH AVE NE GRAND AVE E BURN S NE BROADWAY SE TACOMA ST SW FARMIN G TO N RD NW ST H EL E N S RD SE HAWTHORNE BLVD S W B A R N E S R D NW Y EON AVE SE M CLOU GH L I N BLVD NW ST HELENS R D W B U R N S IDE RD N E LOMBARDST NE S A NDY BL S W S C H O L L S F E RRY RD NE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD SW MURRAY BLVD N LOMBARD ST NE MARIN E DR Day care Cleveland High School Winterhaven Elem. Bullseye Glass Co. Tubman School Boise-Eliot/ Humboldt Elem. Estimated cadmium concentrations Nanograms per cubic meter Below 0.6 ( Cancer risk < 1 in 1 million) 0.6-5 (Cancer risk 1 to 9 in 1 million) 5-10 (Cancer risk 9 to 20 in 1 million) 10-30 (Cancer risk 20 to 50 in 1 million) Above 30 (Cancer risk >50 in 1 million) Multnomah County Health Department February 9, 2016 Cancer risks listed here assume exposure for 24 hours a day 7 days per week for a 70 year lifetime and that air concentrations estimated for October 2015 are constant over that exposure time. Actual exposures that are shorter duration or frequency mean lower risk than what is presented here. This map is not exact or precise. It uses a limited data set from October 2015 to correlate cadmium air concentrations with concentrations in moss, an approach to mapping air pollutants that is new and still developing. People should expect updates and changes to this map over time as DEQ collects additional data and the approach to mapping is refined. Uroboros Glass Testing for toxins IN FEBRUARY, a U.S. Forest Service study of moss samples revealed unhealthy levels of arsenic and cadmium in the air in Southeast Portland, shown in maps such as this one from the Multnomah County Health Department. The alarming report has prompted a new research project in the PSU Institute for Sustainable Solutions. Institute faculty and students in partnership with the city of Portland and Multnomah County will conduct in-depth testing for heavy metals in at least six sites around the metro area for the next two years. They will gather and analyze samples of air, soil, moss and possibly indoor surfaces. Initial results of the study, including maps, will be available in early 2017, with final reports delivered in July 2018. Campus is buzzing A SMALL orchard on the western edge of campus, planted by students in 2011, has thousands of new guests: bees. This past spring, the Student Sustainability Center installed an apiary among the young fruit trees and flowering plants that will host as many as 100,000 bees. The project began with one nest box for Mason bees (Northwest natives that pollinate but don’t make honey), followed by two hives for Carniolan and Italian honeybees. Bees and other pollinators play an essential role in nearly one-third of our food crops, but in recent years bee populations have been declining at alarming rates. The apiary, tended by volunteers, will bring both ecological benefits and educational opportunities. PA R K B L O C K S Estimated cadmi m concentrations Below 0.6 (Cancer risk < 1 in 1 million) 0.6-5 (Canc r risk 1 to 9 in 1 million) 5-10 (Cancer risk 9 to 20 in 1 million) 10-30 (Cancer risk 20 to 50 in 1 million) Above 30 (Cancer risk >50 in 1 million) Nanograms per cubic meter