Portland environmental officials say they’ll likely learn later this month whether traces of tear gas got into the city’s stormwater system.
The results would come from samples recently taken from sediment in storm drains near the federal courthouse downtown. Among the substances being tested for are cyanide, barium and others specific to CS gas, said Diane Dulken, a spokesperson for the city’s Bureau of Environmental Services, which oversees Portland’s sewer and stormwater systems.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality sent a letter to the city last week requiring the testing and monitoring of the stormwater after repeated tear gas use by city and federal officers over the last two months of demonstrations. It’s unclear what all the impacts of the tear gas deployments are, which also enveloped people, trees and buildings. OPB reported that dozens of protesters believe their regular exposure to tear gas during Portland demonstrations led to irregularities within their menstrual cycles.
Dulken said city officials are also concerned after seeing videos online of federal officers using a hose to spray contaminants off the sidewalk into a storm drain in front of the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse. She said it’s against city code to flush any material into Portland’s storm system that isn’t rainwater.
City workers cleaned six storm drains of tear gas residue Wednesday along Southwest Third Avenue between Salmon Street and Main Street, Dulken said. The city is still trying to get access to a seventh storm drain behind the unpermitted fence that surrounds the federal courthouse, she said.
The Willamette River is about three blocks east of the courthouse. The city plans to test an outfall to the river after the next significant rainstorm.
Portland’s last measurable rainfall, three-hundredths of an inch, occurred July 7, according to the National Weather Service.
“Our primary goal is pollution prevention,” said Matt Criblez, Portland’s environmental services compliance manager. “We know that a certain amount of these chemicals have settled into the city’s storm drains. We are going to remove as much as possible to prevent that material from being flushed into the Willamette River.”
-- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey
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