Bonnie Stewart / OPB
Local physician Martin Donohoe brought his niece and nephew to a coal protest. He told the group that the diesel emissions from more trains could increase the number of asthma and other lung-related diseases.
About 150 coal-export protesters gathered in downtown Portland Tuesday outside the offices of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers.
They want that agency to study the environmental and health impacts of hauling coal through the Columbia River Gorge.
Local physician Martin Donohoe says he is concerned about the particulate matter from diesel train engines.
Bonnie Stewart / OPB
City commissioner Amanda Fritz and Hood River City Council member Kate McBride asked coal protesters to ask their elected officials to speak out against more coal exports.
"It contributes to the frequency and severity of asthma attacks as well as attacks of COPD, emphysema, chronic bronchitis. It’s also a contributor to heart disease and to stroke and is carcinogenic."
Portland city commissioner Amanda Fritz told the group she will introduce a resolution opposing the coal trains at a city council meeting.
The Northwest Alliance for Jobs and Exports supports increased coal exports as a way to create more jobs. The group says the Army Corps of Engineers should help the coal industry move forward.
Bonnie Stewart / OPB
Coal-export protesters gathered outside the offices of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Tuesday. They want the Army Corps to conduct a thorough study of the environmental impacts of the proposed increase in coal exports moving through the Columbia River Gorge.
