Use Of Tear Gas In Protests Leads Portland Regulators To Conduct Stormwater Tests
Recent riot control methods to quell protests in Portland, Oregon, have led some regulators to raise concerns about potential source water contamination.
Since May, protests in response to the death of George Floyd have centered around Portland’s federal courthouse. Local and federal officers have attempted to contain the demonstrations, often turning to non-lethal uses of force, such as the deployment of tear gas. The use of these chemicals has now prompted Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality to call for stormwater tests in the area.
“The city must send a monitoring plan to state officials within the next three weeks describing how it will monitor for specific heavy metals and chemicals that regulators believe are likely associated with CS gas, a strong form of toxic tear gas used against protestors for months,” Oregon Live reported.
Specifically, the state is asking the city to collect and analyze stormwater for traces of chromium, hexavalent chromium, lead, zinc, copper, barium, and perchlorate, most of which would be toxic for any consumers if they were to reach drinking water supplies.
“[Diane Dulken, a spokesperson for Portland’s sewer and stormwater agency,] said it’s not unusual for the bureau to sample stormwater and test for five of the metals included in the state letter, but she said the bureau doesn’t test for hexavalent chromium or perchlorate,” per Oregon Live.
Following some reports of power-washing that could be flushing the tear gas contaminants into the city’s storm system, the Portland Bureau of Environmental Services has been undertaking drain-cleaning efforts.
“The effort comes as protests have been ongoing in Portland for close to 70 days, with the sustained use of tear gas and other agents posing ‘a new and unknown pollution source,’ according to the bureau,” Fox 12 reported. “Crews will vacuum out the drains and send the sediment to a commercial landfill sometime this week.”
To read more about regulatory efforts to protect stormwater, visit Water Online’s Source Water Contamination Solutions Center.