"No other U.S. city has ever been subjected to such a sustained barrage of tear gas"

[swag]

60-plus days of tear gas leaves lingering questions about environmental impacts

By Monica Samayoa (OPB) and Lauren Dake (OPB)


https://www.opb.org/article/2020/07/31/tear-gas-environmental-impact-portland/

Excerpt:

. . . Recent public accounts describe a strong chemical odor lingering in Lownsdale Square hours after police release gas. Others have seen what appears to be tear gas residue sticking to the dirt and dust when they’ve made daylight returns to the area. And they’ve experienced the return of itchiness in their eyes and scratchiness in their throats from the previous night’s protests.

Some are worried about what the chemicals will do to the environment long after downtown protests end.

“Because of how they are cleaning the streets and when they come through with the trucks and they wash the street and brush it, where does all that water run? Into the sewer system. Where does that sewer system run to? I’m guessing into the [Willamette] River,” said a woman who identified herself as Vita. She was in the area early Thursday. She said she is a medical assistant who has been helping tend to protesters’s medical needs.

“All those chemicals, if it’s a daily occurrence for a long period of time, yeah, it can definitely hurt,” she said.

When asked about what all these chemicals are doing to the environment, state and city agencies say there’s nowhere to look to for answers, because no other U.S. city has ever been subjected to such a sustained barrage of tear gas.

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