Pollute the air, pay the price

Roseburg Forest Products, a privately owned manufacturer of building materials, was recently slapped with a hefty fine for federal Clean Air Act violations committed at its Weed, Calif., location, according to an Environmental Protection Agency press release.

The EPA fined the Oregon-based wood-veneer manufacturer $75,000 for several violations, including failing to monitor nitrogen oxides for almost 50 days in 2008 and 2009 and failing to properly monitor and record boiler emissions in summer 2008. The plant also submitted inaccurate pollution reports in 2008.

The facility is surrounded by several residential neighborhoods, schools and senior centers. Unchecked pollutants from the facility’s biomass boiler are particularly dangerous to children and the elderly, and can cause a variety of respiratory-related health problems, such as aggravated asthma and even premature death.