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From the Editor's Laptop...
It was great to open my
email
when I got back from vacation this month. In it I found
several emails in
agreement, and those who challenged my search for
an alternative solvent for my
cleaners. Your agreement showed that I am not alone
in my questioning the
validity of PERC. Not that I have a problem with it. It's
my
customers who do. Your challenges gave me even
more reason to do my
research!
First, is the question of what I
want. Figuring
that out was an interesting exercise. I
want to keep my existing
machine and simply use a different solvent. The only
solvent available is
DrySolv (NPB). This solvent, barely on the market is
getting all kinds
of negative feedback from the industry and the fairest
thing to do
would be to find out why.
There are two major
issues. One, the
health concerns. While it doesn't have the regulations
connected to it
that PERC does, it does have issues that need to be
dealt with. It seems
to me that if you operate your plant just as safely as if
you do with PERC those
issues become void. Exposure is extremely limited.
Ground and
air contamination would be nearly impossible. So I
ask you,
what is the issue with the health concerns compared
to PERC? The
public is erroneously worried they will get cancer or
come down with
neurological disorders from wearing clothes cleaned
in PERC. "Why
no, Mrs. Smith, we don't use PERC here".
Problem solved. Do
they yet care about NPB? No, and I don't
think they will for a very long time if at all. Remember,
safeguards are in place and it's doubtful you would
ever hear any news
reports about drinking water contaminated with NPB
from a dry cleaning
facility.
 Number two is the issue of corrosion
being reported by
some cleaners using NPB. The stabilizers in NPB
break down upon prolonged
exposure to water. Prolonged exposure to water?
This is very
interesting and requires much more research. I
wonder though. Are
these dry cleaners not attending to
their "housekeeping" duties and maintaining
their equipment? Did they have mechanical problems
that added to the
issue? My concern here is the continuing problem of
my machine blowing
through steam coils and leaking into my base tanks.
(Please don't email
and suggest the steam pressure is to high). The
average coil on my machine
lasts about a year. We still haven't figured out why so I
keep a spare on
hand to change it out quickly. This problem will have
to be resolved
before I consider making a change in this
direction.
As to the second
question of what I want. If I am to change out the
cleaning machine for a
different solvent then it needs to do several things for
me. Among them
are reduce maintenance. They seem to be getting
more complex, read more
maintenance, than easier to operate. It should reduce
my operating costs
in regards to utilities. This is the 21st century.
Consumers,
including myself, are concerned about energy
conservation. With the
exception of the Columbia Ipura machine, the
manufacturers are not addressing
this issue at all. I want to be able to program the
machine cycles on my laptop, (as well as do
diagnostics), and download the
new programs directly to the microprocessor instead
of standing there
with a book in one hand and my finger on machine
controls for twenty
minutes. Hey, I rarely program the thing so I don't
bother to
memorize the whole procedure. Steam, air and water
connections
should be centrally located and lined up in a neat little
row instead of the
helter skelter mess of pipes all over the back of the
machine. Most of
which are in the way when you do your maintenance.
Lastly, and I would be
willing to give up all the rest for this one, put the heat
pump in a remote
location. Outside, on the roof, in another room. It
doesn't
matter. What matters is the constant drone of that
thing when it
runs. I think we are spending so much energy on
environmental concerns
that we have completely forgotten about noise
pollution.
So that's where
I am on my search. I will keep you informed but for
the next couple of
months I will be concentrating on all things
convention.
That's right, it's
coming sooner than you think and the crunch is on!
Watch your mail later
this month for your registration packet and be sure to
send it in quickly.
I would also suggest not waiting to make your hotel
reservations.
Kah-Nee-Ta has arranged a special rate of only
$85.00 per night for ODCA
members. Just mention our name when you call.
Remember though, the
lodge requires a two night stay on Fridays and
Saturdays and it's a long way
to any other lodgings. Click on the Kah-Nee-Ta link in
this
newsletter.
Until next month...
Brian Olson CED, Director, District 1 - Newsletter Editor
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A message from President Scott McClure. . . |
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I hope everyone is enjoying
their summer and getting ready for the fall and the
busy times. This would
be a good time to get all the maintenance jobs done
and prepare for a busy
fall.
As I promised, we have received a
response from the City of Portland
regarding the flyer posted on their website regarding
PERC. A copy
of this letter is included in this newsletter. They are
removing the flyer
from the website and it will not be re-posted but will be
available to
anyone that specifically requests it. As you can see
from the language,
they still are not convinced that PERC is safe and it
will stay on the list of
chemicals not to be used by the city. I believe that the
City will be
taking this up again as they are committed to
eventually ban PERC and most
chemicals using the "Precautionary Principle". (See
Commissioner Saltzman's
letter below).
This brings me to the subject of
scare tactics,
misinformation and lies used by the media everyday
that influence the way we
think and believe. I recently read a book by John
Stossel of the 20/20
news program on ABC called, "Myths, Lies and
Downright Stupidity" that sheds
some light on what we will continue to face in the
years to come. In this
book he lists subjects, their myths and then the truth
of the subject. The
opening Myth: The media will check it out and give you
the objective
truth. The Truth: Many in the media are scientifically
clueless and
will scare you to death. In reading the book it
becomes apparent that the
media is nothing but attention grabbers looking for the
most sensational story
to sell their product; news. The other myth I wish to
share is Chemical
Pollution is the cause of the cancer epidemic. Truth:
There is no
cancer epidemic. In the book Stossel says the
following; "Almost every week
there is another story about a potential menace.
While I have been a
reporter, I've been asked to do alarmist reports about
hair dye, dry cleaning,
coffee, chewing gum, saccharin, cyclamates,
NutraSweet, nitrites, red dye No. 2,
electric blankets, video display terminals, dental
fillings, cellular phones,
vaccines, potato chips, farmed salmon, Teflon,
antiperspirant and even rubber
duckies. I refused to do most of those stories and
now I have to ask if
the scares were valid? Where are the bodies?
This is exactly what
we have been facing in the dry cleaning industry for years
and we have spent most of this year defending
ourselves to use a legal
product in a safe manner. We have been attacked by
the news media, city
governments and the activists that work behind the
scenes. Will it ever
stop? I think not, and I do not believe it will have
anything to do with
the cleaning solution you choose to use but what is in
vogue for them to
attack.
Finally I would
like to make a statement regarding the IFI (DLI)
presenting
the Oregon DEQ with the Greenfields Award at its 100
Year Celebration during
Clean Show in Las Vegas this year. They were given
the award for
raising the ambient benchmark for PERC based on
potential non-cancer, rather than
cancer health effects. Nowhere is the ODCA given any
credit for this.
If we had not supplied the information and testified
before the committee then
they would have lowered the benchmark and left it as
a possible carcinogen. This
would have been costly to many PERC users in the
issuing of Air
Quality Permits and more stringent reporting
requirements and fees. Did IFI
ever contact someone from our association to get the
whole story? Not
to our knowledge. In fact, when I posted our troubles
with the
media on the Fabricare Forum I
never received
a comment or a call from IFI asking how they could
assist us
but the NCA did, and they provided us with valuable
information and
support. I want to acknowledge and thank Nora
Nealis for her
help.
I could go on to other subjects that affect
us but I will
leave them for next month. Don't forget about
convention coming up the
first weekend of October. I look forward to seeing you
all
there!
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Commisioner Dan Saltzman responds to ODCA concerns |
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June 28, 2007
Mr.
Scott
McClure, President
Oregon Dry Cleaners
Association
PO Box
290
Corvallis, OR 97339
Dear Mr.
McClure,
I wish to thank
you and the other ODCA members for taking the time
to talk with various City
staff members regarding your concerns over our "Un-
Perc Your Clothes" employee
educational flyer that was distributed in April of this
year. This letter
is in response to the issues brought up both during
those discussions and in
subsequent emails.
As you know, the "Un-
Perc" flyer was created as part
of the City's Sustainable Procurement Strategy, which
over the past several
years has involved numerous employee awareness
efforts related to using
less-toxic and more environmentally preferable
products. Many of the
efforts of the Sustainable Procurement Strategy,
including the creation of the
"Un-Perc" flyer, were also later captured in the Toxics
Reduction Strategy in an
effort to ensure relevant projects were all accounted
for in one
document.
For over a decade the City has
adopted several sustainability
related programs and policies, including the Toxics
Reduction Strategy which is
based on the Precautionary Principle. This means
that when an activity
raises threats of harm to human health or the
environment, the City will take
precautionary measures even if some cause and
effect relationships are not fully
established scientifically.
The "Un-Perc" flyer
does not ban the use of
any dry cleaning chemicals in the City and does not
restrict the ability of City
staff to use the dry cleaner of their choice. I believe
that the "Un-Perc"
flyer is in alignment with our stated goal of
implementing the Precautionary
Principle. The flyer was intended to be an employee
awareness tool,
particularly for those employees that are personally
responsible for dry
cleaning the uniforms they wear in performing the
services of the City. I
have asked the Bureau of Purchases to modify the
flyer to more explicitly
indicate this intent.
I understand your
concerns regarding the
distribution of this flyer, including its posting on the
City's public
website. The dry cleaners listed on the flyer were
mailed the flyer as a
courtesy (on May 7, 2007), to inform them that we had
shared this information
with our staff (which happened via email on April 4,
2007). In response to
your concerns, the flyer has been removed from the
City's public website and
will not be re-posted. The flyer will, however, be made
available upon
request to interested external parties, per the Oregon
Public Records
laws.
Members of the Toxics Reduction
Strategy Steering Committee have
reviewed the supplemental materials you provided,
including the study from the
Nordic countries and the materials from the Oregon
Department of Environmental
Quality. After considering this information, the
Steering Committee
continues to support the inclusion of
perchloroethylene on the Toxic Reduction
Strategy's list of Priority Chemicals of Concern and
they believe the "Un-Perc"
flyer was a reasonable precautionary measure to have
taken. I support
their findings.
The Toxic Reduction Strategy
will be periodically
reviewed and updated. I have instructed staff to
ensure that ODCA is
notified when this document is up for consideration by
City Council so that
you can directly provide comments and feedback on
the future versions of the
document. At this time, no further Perchloroethylene
related actions are
planned as part of the Toxics Reduction Strategy or
the Sustainable Procurement
Strategy.
Sincerely,
Dan
Saltzman
cc: Ms. Kathey
Butters
Mr. Sam
Kim
Ms. Michele
Crim
Ms. Stacey
Foreman
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ODCA adopts new Tom Mosher Award selection procedures |
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Tom Mosher was
President of
the Oregon Dry Cleaners Association in 1966 when
he passed away. His wife
Lois finished his term for him. To honor their
dedication to the industry,
the ODCA created the Tom Mosher Award. This
award recognizes the
Outstanding Dry Cleaner of the Year and has been
presented almost every year
since its creation.
At the April 28th Board
Meeting in Florence,
Oregon this year, the ODCA Board adopted new
procedures for selecting the Tom
Mosher Award recipient. Those procedures are as
follows:
COMMITTEE The committee
charged with selecting the
Award recipient is comprised of the President,
President Elect, and at
least one Allied Trades
member.
NOMINATIONS Anyone
except
the committee members may
nominate.
NOMINEE Nominee must
be
a Member of the ODCA in good standing as defined by
our by-laws. Members
of the Committee are not
eligible.
CRITERIA The Nominee
should embody the spirit of our Mission
Statement.
- To Elevate the
standards of the dry cleaning
industry
- To Promote the
interests of the Oregon Dry
Cleaners Association members
- To Bring about a spirit
of cooperation among all
dry cleaners
- To Extend
opportunities to dry cleaners for
education along the lines of industrial, scientific, and
vocational
activities
The task of
nominating now fall squarely on your
shoulders and it couldn't be
easier! All you need to do is send an email to the nominating
committee answering at least one of the following
questions, The more
information you provide, the better chance your
nominee has to be selected as
the Tom Mosher Dry Cleaner of the Year. Please be
sure to identify
yourself so the committee can contact you for more
details if needed.
- What has the nominee contributed to the ODCA
and the Dry Cleaning
Industry?
- How does the nominee use their business to
elevate the image of the
industry?
- What activities is the nominee involved in for the
good of the greater
community?
The deadline to submit your
nomination is 5 weeks prior to
convention, (August 31st this year), however, the
sooner you nominate, the
easier it will be for the committee to review and make
their
selection.
Contact the
committee at nominating
committee
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Interesting Links from around the globe..... |
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An interesting letter to the editor of The News & Observer in Raleigh
Durham. Perhaps the lesson here is to challenge
inaccuracies. Perhaps its something we all should
do each and every time we see an inaccurate or
incomplete report about our industry.
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ODCA Convention |
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ODCA Convention
2007
October 5th & 6th
Kah-Nee-
Ta
High Dessert Resort &
Casino
The wide open spaces of Kah-Nee-Ta create a
bountiful mecca for recreation. Natural hot springs
pour into the pools, and Warm Springs River follows
the canyon floor to create a spectacular water world
that's ideal for kayaking. Roam where the natives
once did among the rugged landscape by foot or by
horse. The key ingredient to any convention resort
spot is a place that offers pleasure and relaxation.
Kah-Nee-Ta provides visitors a place to enjoy the
quiet and immerse themselves in a variety of activities
at the same time. Whether seeking an active day in
the sun playing golf, volleyball or tennis, or just
relaxing with a book by the pool, visitors can choose
from any array of activities offered at the resort.
Join your fellow dry cleaners for the annual ODCA
convention October 5th and 6th. Come a day early
and stay a day late to enjoy all that Kah-Nee-Ta
High Dessert Resort & Casino has to offer.
Make your October 5th & 6th reservations at the resort
by calling (800)554-4SUN. Mention ODCA to recieve
your special rate!
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