Study funded by Orcas’ Research Now impacts findings
— by Floyd McKay for Crosscut.com —
They are so small you can’t see them in the air — but you inhale them, and they can go to your lungs and even your bloodstream. They come from many sources, but among them are diesel train engines and coal in trains or storage piles.
Doctors worry about them, researchers study them, and now the microscopic critters — called Diesel Particulate Matter, or DPMs — are delaying the finish of a lengthy environmental assessment of a giant coal-export terminal proposed for Cherry Point in Whatcom County.
Agencies handling the protracted Environmental Impact Statement process say the EIS process has been delayed — perhaps for a year or more — by disagreements over how to study particulates. BNSF Railway’s refusal to share documents and studies with consultants has also contributed to the delay, along with other factors.
The particulate issue is complex because there is very little science on particulates from coal dust, and existing studies are in disagreement. Until recently, it was difficult to differentiate between particulates from diesel emissions and coal dust. But University of Washington researcher Dan Jaffe may have made a breakthrough in that area.
(To read the full article, go to /crosscut.com/2015/03/tiny-particles-delay-study-of-coal-port-proposal/)
People reading this article should realize it contains an error. Donna Riordan, an expert on science policy, is the one who organized Research Now. I am a member of its science advisory board, the one who interacted most closely with UW professor Cliff Mass on the Cherry Point winds study.