LRAPA: Seneca power plant in north Eugene 'low risk' for cancer, other health effects - The Register-Guard

The Lane Regional Air Protection Agency and Oregon Health Authority found the risk of cancer and other negative health effects from from a wood-burning power plant in north Eugene is very low.

At a community meeting Wednesday to discuss the health impacts of pollutants from Seneca Sustainable Energy, LRAPA said Seneca Sustainable Energy is a low-risk site requiring few new air quality regulations.

It was LRAPA's first site-specific community meeting concerning the Cleaner Air Oregon program, a recently adopted statewide air toxics program that gives the agency power to regulate 600 new pollutants and impose new air quality regulations. The meeting was held online with LRAPA agents and the power plant owners, Seneca Sustainable Energy.

LRAPA and OHA did an inventory of pollutants and a health risk assessment of surrounding areas to find the the risk negative health effects from the power plant is very low. Seneca Sustainable Energy will only need new Cleaner Air Oregon permits to govern the occasional process of starting up the facility.

"OHA and LRAPA conclude cancer risk from this facility's air emissions is very low," OHA Toxicologist Holly Dixon said. "There are no non-cancer health risks from this facility."

The Cleaner Air Oregon program, adopted by LRAPA in 2019, still is in its early stages. It is designed to focus on pollutants' health risks instead of the amount of pollutants a site generates.

First Lane County site to share results

Seneca Sustainable Energy was...

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