Coal dusting uncertainties

Floyd McKay • Feb 6, 2018

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>Coal dusting uncertainties</h1>
                <h2><p>A new study indicates that diesel trains carrying coal pose possible health risks for the communities through which they run. University of Washington Bothell Professor Dan Jaffe, who specializes in global and regional atmospheric pollution, studied trains for a month at sites near rail tracks in the Columbia River Gorge</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/floydmckay-comcast-net/">Floyd McKay</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>A new study indicates that diesel trains carrying coal pose possible health risks for the communities through which they run. University of Washington Bothell <a href="http://faculty.washington.edu/djaffe/?ref=avalancheghost.one">Professor Dan Jaffe</a>, who specializes in global and regional atmospheric pollution, studied trains for a month at sites near rail tracks in the Columbia River Gorge and in Seattle’s Blue Ridge neighborhood. In a news release, Jaffe noted his study was too short to be definitive, but said it indicated neighborhoods close to the tracks are “at risk of exceeding air quality standards” from diesel exhaust and coal dust. His research was spurred by proposals for a major increase in coal traffic if new export terminals are built near Bellingham and at Longview. Jaffe will present his study at 7 p.m. tonight (Monday) at Mobius Hall, UW Bothell. — F.M.</p>
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A new study indicates that diesel trains carrying coal pose possible health risks for the communities through which they run. University of Washington Bothell Professor Dan Jaffe, who specializes in global and regional atmospheric pollution, studied trains for a month at sites near rail tracks in the Columbia River Gorge and in Seattle’s Blue Ridge neighborhood. In a news release, Jaffe noted his study was too short to be definitive, but said it indicated neighborhoods close to the tracks are “at risk of exceeding air quality standards” from diesel exhaust and coal dust. His research was spurred by proposals for a major increase in coal traffic if new export terminals are built near Bellingham and at Longview. Jaffe will present his study at 7 p.m. tonight (Monday) at Mobius Hall, UW Bothell. — F.M.

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By Floyd McKay

Floyd J. McKay, professor of journalism emeritus at Western Washington University, was a print and broadcast journalist in Oregon for three decades. He is also a historian and his new book, "Reporting