air quality and biomass receive failing grade 060511 Klamath Falls

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Air quality and biomass receive a failing grade

Herald and News letter to the editor by Fred Charles. Klamath Falls 6/5/11

A while back Klamath County received another “F” grade for air quality from the American Lung Association.

Klamath County has been receiving the big “F” for a number of years and it could stand for a lot of things.

Trey Senn of the Klamath County Economic Development Association thinks it means “fabulous” air quality, if he can bring that biomass plant to town.

I personally think the “F” should mean “fantasy land.” If he thinks the air quality will be so much cleaner with a biomass plant that burns green wood 24/7, 365 days a year.

Evidently he spends way too much time behind his desk and doesn’t see outside when the Forest Service is burning slash piles.

Most slash piles are 30 to 70 miles out of town and the Forest Service monitors weather inversions and wind direction, so as to not contribute to Klamath Falls’ air quality problem any more than necessary and “again” slash piles are only burned for a two- to three-week period in the spring and the rest of the 49 weeks are free from open burning and that is a fact.

In regards to the miracle air filter “biomass plant” that will filter all the air in Klamath County that Senn and other civic leaders advocate as the God-sent solution to Klamath County air quality: It’s obvious these civic leaders have only expressed what facts the biomass representatives have supplied them with and have not taken any time to educate themselves as to the health ramifications a biomass plant will bring to the residential neighborhoods and the total amount of carbon particulates that will be added to the Klamath County air by the biomass plant and the 900 truck trips a week.

What does the air quality “F” grade mean? It means “biomass.”