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Michael Dunne: I'm Michael Dunne. When I think about a city with poor air quality, I instantly think of Los Angeles, and it's true: the City of Angels has had a devil of a time with airborne pollution for decades. But you might be surprised to know that a national agency and a local agency both rate our air, the Eugene-Springfield area, as having some of the worst air in the nation. How can this be? Today on the show, you'll hear from a reporter with The Register-Guard who dug into the data. And while the numbers line up, there's a big caveat about our air quality. Then, in the second part of the show, we check in with our interns about stories they produced, including big developments at Oregon State University and the city of Corvallis.
Dunne: Hannarose McGuinness, reporter with The Register-Guard. Hannarose, it's great to see you. Thanks so much for coming in.
Hannarose McGuinness: Happy to be here.
Dunne: I enjoyed your story about our air quality here in the Eugene-Springfield area. Give us an overview. What did you find out?
McGuinness: It was an interesting dive to take. I saw that the American Lung Association had released its 2026 State of the Air report. That's a report the association has put out every year since 2000. This was their 27th report, and it found that Eugene-Springfield had some pretty poor air quality.
Dunne: How bad was it?
McGuinness: There's mixed messaging there, so it sounded pretty bad at first. It ranked Eugene-Springfield as the second most polluted metro area for daily particle pollution and the third most polluted for annual particle pollution. But the data is a bit more nuanced. The report isn't actually looking at Eugene-Springfield specifically; it looks at Lane County as a whole.
Dunne: And obviously, as we know, that's a very large county with a lot of different factors. I think Oakridge factored into this. Talk a little bit about that.
McGuinness: Right. The report uses county data and then labels it with a well-known metro area in that county, so it's easier for people to know where they're talking about. Like you mentioned, Lane County is very large. We span from the Cascades to the coast, and Oakridge, if you follow local news, you know is pretty wildfire-prone. So I saw that report and called up the Lane Regional Air Protection Agency.
Dunne: LRAPA, as a lot of people know it.
McGuinness: Thank you. I found that the data in the report is accurate. LRAPA double-checked and confirmed everything was correct. But they also found that Oakridge is heavily skewing that data. So the report shows Lane County with much more daily and annual particle pollution than we might experience day to day because of anomalies in the Oakridge area, like wildfires.
Dunne: Talk a little about how pollution is divided. There's particulate pollution, which you mentioned, and there's ozone pollution. Can you help us understand the difference?
McGuinness: The American Lung Association's report considers what it calls two of the most widespread and dangerous air pollutants: fine particulate matter, or fine particle pollution, and ozone. Particle pollution is all of those tiny bits of liquid and solid particles in the air we're breathing, and this report specifically looks at PM 2.5, which is usually a byproduct of burning wood or fossil fuels. We get a lot of that from wildfires here in Lane County.
Dunne: What contributes to ozone pollution?
McGuinness: Ozone is created in the lower atmosphere when a combination of pollutants, usually nitrogen oxides and volatile organic compounds, interact with sunlight. Those also tend to come from burning fossil fuels. A big way we get ozone here in Lane County is when people idle their vehicles or use gas-powered lawn equipment during peak sunlight hours.
Dunne: I see. So Interstate 5 may be a contributor, as well as some of our other freeways. Talk a bit more about what poor air quality can do to our health.
McGuinness: Poor air quality is, across the board, not very good. This report focuses a lot on the impact on children, largely because kids tend to spend more time outside and breathe a greater volume of air relative to their body size, which can affect their development going forward. Particle pollution can cause cardiovascular disease and respiratory harm. Ozone, when inhaled, can do the same thing. It can have negative effects on other bodily systems and can be a powerful irritant to the lungs. And neither of those pollutants has a safe exposure threshold, so really, any amount of particulate matter or ozone pollution is bad news.
Dunne: So I'm wondering, not that this can happen, but if we didn't experience so many wildfires in Lane County, would our rating from the American Lung Association and LRAPA be a lot better? Would we be considered a pretty healthy air quality region?
McGuinness: Absolutely. When I talked to LRAPA, they said about 85% of the air pollution in our airshed comes from wildfires. Those fires tend to be intense and sustained because of the amount of burning that happens. We also live in the Willamette Valley, so much like water puddles in a divot in the ground, air can stagnate and sit at the bottom of the valley, which can prolong the poor air quality we experience.
Dunne: It's almost a classic example of a blessing and a curse. We live in a wonderful area with wonderful forests, but that's also the fuel that drives wildfires. So, one thing I saw in your report is that Oregon got a pretty poor overall grade, too. Is that correct?
McGuinness: Yes. Oregon as a whole got a poor ranking for overall air quality, likely because of how significant wildfires are here. One thing to note is the report specifically looked at data from 2022 to 2024. In that time frame, specifically in Lane County, the 2022 Cedar Creek Fire ended up being Oregon's second-largest wildfire that year. The 2023 Lookout Fire east of Springfield prompted evacuations, and in 2024, a grass fire near Oakridge generated so much smoke that businesses had to close. That's not unique to Lane County or the Willamette Valley; the state of Oregon generally ranked poorly for air quality. Elsewhere in Oregon, for annual particle pollution, the Medford-Grants Pass area ranked 23rd most polluted, and for daily particle pollution, Medford-Grants Pass ranked 16th most polluted, while Bend ranked 20th. This is an Oregon-wide problem.
Dunne: How do we compare to cities in other states?
McGuinness: The most polluted city for ozone in this State of the Air report was Los Angeles-Long Beach, California.
Dunne: Makes sense.
McGuinness: The most polluted city for daily particulate matter pollution was Fairbanks-College, Alaska.
Dunne: Interesting.
McGuinness: Eugene-Springfield ranked second in that category.
Dunne: Wow.
McGuinness: And for annual particulate matter pollution, Bakersfield-Delano, California, ranked top.
Dunne: OK. So we're not doing so well. I know in your report LRAPA talked about suggestions for people, especially as we're sitting here in July. Chances are good we're about to enter wildfire season. What did LRAPA suggest people can do to lessen the particulates they might be taking in, especially during a wildfire?
McGuinness: The good news is that, according to LRAPA, we generally have good air quality here in Lane County, and poor air quality is not the daily norm for residents. But LRAPA said that because wildfire impacts can be sudden, extreme and sustained, people need to learn to live with momentarily heightened, extremely poor air quality. That can look like taking a few different actions. A HEPA-grade air purifier works year-round to reduce indoor air pollution. Living in the valley, we experience poor air quality during summer from wildfires, but we can also get it in winter during air stagnation events, when there isn't enough wind to move air around in the valley.
Dunne: That air purifier helps you all year long, which is an incredible resource to have. My last question: Obviously, it's almost impossible to prevent wildfires. But beyond those personal measures, did the American Lung Association mention any community-wide programs to help prevent this kind of poor air quality?
McGuinness: Sure. The American Lung Association's recommendations from this State of the Air report call on the EPA to return to its mission as a public health agency protecting human health, particularly, in this report, for children and the environment. The EPA has either proposed or successfully rolled back some environmental protections under the Trump administration. Most recently, on July 9, it proposed changes to what it called unnecessary and unworkable Biden-era compliance requirements in the trucking industry. There's been reporting from NPR suggesting truckers might find this more workable day to day, but a lot of environmental agencies and organizations are pushing back against it. That proposal is open for public comment until Aug. 29, 2026. Essentially, the association wants people to stand up and use their voice.
Dunne: Makes sense, their rather raspy voice, because of particulate matter, but still very important. Hannarose McGuinness is a reporter for The Register-Guard. Hannarose, thank you so much for coming in and talking with us.
McGuinness: Thank you so much for having me.
Dunne: Let's now check in with our interns about big happenings in Corvallis. First, we talk with Macy Moore about important projects in Corvallis. Macy Moore, reporter with us here at KLCC. Macy, great to see you. Thanks so much for coming in.
Macy Moore: Thanks for having me.
Dunne: You did a recent story about the historic Van Buren Bridge. Let's start here, because some folks may not know: What was, and what is, the Van Buren Bridge in Corvallis?
Moore: The Van Buren Bridge is the bridge you take to get into Corvallis when you cross the Willamette. It goes straight into downtown Corvallis.
Dunne: So really, the big connector into Corvallis.
Moore: Yes, off of Highway 34. Until a couple of months ago, when the new bridge opened, it had weight restrictions and wasn't earthquake-safe because it was a roughly 100-year-old, human-powered swing-span bridge. It was a very historical, interesting piece of engineering that Corvallis has sadly outgrown, because we want big vehicles to be able to cross the bridge, and we want it to be earthquake-safe.
Dunne: So, as you said, a lot of history with that bridge. To answer the question your story's headline poses: What is next for the Van Buren Bridge?
Moore: The Oregon Department of Transportation kept some of the pony trusses off of the bridge, along with the human-powered swing-span mechanism, a bunch of people would push it to make the swing span work, which is pretty cool. They kept those two pieces because they were an icon of Corvallis, and they're holding onto them now, hoping to turn them into an exhibit somewhere on the Willamette waterfront in downtown Corvallis. Right now, they're asking residents to go online and take a survey, or to talk with them at upcoming Saturday farmers markets, to see what people want to happen with that exhibit.
Dunne: It's kind of cool that they might be able to preserve this piece of the historic bridge. I know you live in Corvallis. Has the new span improved the ability to get into and out of the city?
Moore: The new span hasn't necessarily made game-day traffic better, because it's the same size bridge, but it now has a multi-use path for walking and biking, so you can access both banks of the Willamette, which was really difficult to do before. I think that's actually been a vast improvement.
Dunne: I want to switch gears a little. Talk about your story on the new funding for the Osborn Aquatic Center.
Moore: Yes. The Corvallis School Board just approved new funding to finish fixing the aquatic center. A couple of years ago, the school district, which owns the aquatic center, though it's run and maintained largely by the city of Corvallis, found corrosion in the roof. So the aquatic center and its pools have been only partially open, on and off, for the past two years. With this new funding, they're going to fix the roof corrosion and hopefully get a new pool liner and a new HVAC system. They have all the money for the roof corrosion but have to raise the remaining gap for the HVAC system and pool liner by next May.
Dunne: Where might that funding come from?
Moore: I don't know. The school district said they're going to pursue fundraising measures, kind of vaguely. The first chunk of funding was only just approved, about two weeks ago. It's in the documents, and what they said is that they will pursue fundraising measures.
Dunne: Is it a popular aquatic center? Does it get a lot of use?
Moore: It gets a lot of use, especially in the summer, from kids and families. It's also one of the only pools in the area big enough for high school swim meets. Both Corvallis High School and Crescent Valley use it, and I believe some smaller schools in the area do as well.
Dunne: Well, thank you for that Corvallis report. You're practically our Corvallis bureau chief, Macy Moore. Thank you so much for coming in and chatting.
Moore: Yeah, of course. Thank you.
Dunne: Now we talk with Hannah Bush of our station about a great honor for an OSU band. Hannah Bush, an intern here at KLCC. Hannah, thanks so much for coming into the studio.
Hannah Bush: Thanks for having me.
Dunne: I really liked your story about the OSU Wind Ensemble. What is the OSU Wind Ensemble?
Bush: The OSU Wind Ensemble is one of OSU's several bands. I know they're very famous for their marching band, but this one is all wind instruments: flute, oboe and so on.
Dunne: And they're headed to a really cool international conference. It seems pretty special. Talk about that.
Bush: Yes, they're going to the World Association for Symphonic Bands and Ensembles conference, WASBE for short. Every two years the association holds an international conference, and the OSU band was invited this year to Rio de Janeiro to perform.
Dunne: The students must be thrilled. Talk about some of the songs they'll perform. As I understand it, they're representing America in a way.
Bush: Yes. It lines up with the Fourth of July, the 250th anniversary of America, and to honor that, they're only performing songs by American composers. They also have a special piece written for them by their assistant director that directly references their alma mater, OSU. Their director, Eric Leung, said the students are especially excited to be performing some music from "Star Wars: Episode VII."
Dunne: Very cool. We all know that one. And as I understand it, this is kind of an unusual group of musicians, right?
Bush: Yes. Leung said the OSU Wind Ensemble and OSU's marching band in general are special because most of their members aren't music majors. About 70% of the band is made up of non-music majors, which means that when they're performing, and they started preparing for this concert more than a year ago, practicing since last November, none of that time is going toward their major or their career. They're doing it because they love music.
Dunne: That is really neat. You were able to talk to some of the students. What did they say? How excited are they, not only to represent OSU at this big conference, but to be heading to Rio?
Bush: I spoke with Sydney Potter, their oboe player. She said she's very excited, with some mixed emotions, just because it's all coming up so fast after this long buildup. They've put in a lot of preparation, and they've had to make sure everyone has the proper vaccinations and knows the safety protocols. But it's a big deal, and a lot of them are excited, especially because they're the first Oregon ensemble to attend as performers. They want to make a good name for themselves.
Dunne: I bet they do. When is the conference?
Bush: They have their send-off concert on the 16th. They leave on the 17th, and I believe they perform from the 22nd to the 24th at the conference. So it's coming up soon.
Dunne: I bet there will be quite a celebration when they get back. That's a great story. Again, we've been talking with Hannah Bush, an intern here, about the OSU Wind Ensemble. Hannah, I always appreciate your contributions. Thanks so much.
Bush: Thank you.
Dunne: That's the show for today. All episodes of Oregon on the Record are available as a podcast at klcc.org. Tomorrow on the show, a media studies professor from the University of Oregon talks about the disparate treatment our national media gives to Democrats versus Republicans, especially now, and especially when it comes to sex scandals. I'm Michael Dunne, host of Oregon on the Record. Thanks for listening.
