For nearly a month, federal troops dowsed Portland protesters with CS tear gas, a chemical weapon banned in war. Now its residues still cling to the trees and grass in Lownsdale Square and Chapman Park and may be making its way into Portland’s storm water system. Yet no one really knows what chemicals have been used by law enforcement on Portland's protesters.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Damon Motz-Storey, Healthy Climate Program director for Oregon Physicians for Social Responsibility, about the potential impacts these toxic chemicals have left on our public health, our wildlife, and our air and water quality.
Damon Motz-Storey leads Oregon PSR's Healthy Climate Program advocating for a just transition from fossil fuels exports, fossil fuel infrastructure, and nuclear power to clean, renewable energy. He represents Oregon PSR in a variety of Pacific Northwest coalitions, including Power Past Fracked Gas, Stand Up To Oil, and the Portland Clean Energy Fund. He coordinates Oregon PSR's climate lobbying efforts to ensure that public health is well-considered by environmental policy makers at the local, state, and federal levels.
Here are some links to blogs and articles Damon mentions on the show:
Dr. Erika Moseson's blog post: https://airhealthourhealth.org/non-lethal-tear-gas-not-likely/
Oregon PSR's state legislative testimony on police use of tear gas and impact munitions: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/oregonpsrorg/pages/1604/attachments/original/1593046103/Oregon_PSR_Testimony_on_Police_Accountability_Legislative_Concepts_%286-23-20%29.pdf?1593046103
Neighbors For Clean Air survey for people who have experienced tear gas exposure, to be collected and shared with Multnomah County Health Department: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/ZC9G8F6
Oregon Dept. of Environmental Quality incident report form: https://hdccmw1.deq.state.or.us/ncident/nform/app/?allowAnonymous=true#/submissionwizard/2e88f7ad-fb39-44fe-a14a-d91b7ba52e86/0
- KBOO