This scene under the Pacific Boulevard overpass attracted my attention on Sunday, July 16, 2023.
What would prompt a crew from the Portland & Western Railroad to take up a track and dig a long, deep hole under the Pacific Boulevard viaduct in Albany? On a hot Sunday in July no less?
The need for an environmental cleanup, that’s what.
Sunday’s bicycle ride had me going west along Seventh Avenue toward rhe underpass, and the sight of all that digging stopped me.
Turns out that an amount of diesel fuel had spilled at that spot, and the work was intended to dig up and dispose of as much of the contaminated dirt as possible.
The men doing the work said the diesel spilled on Thursday morning from a Union Pacific locomotive. I did not learn how much oil was spilled, but from the size of the excavation it looked to be a substantial amount.
Also on cleanup on the job were people from a hazmat response unit of Graymar Environmental Services, a company with offices around the country including one in Troutdale, Ore.
Of the four tracks running under the overpass, the cleanup operation appeared to affect at least one and maybe two on the south side. This seemed to leave the Union Pacific’s mainline on the north side untouched. (hh)
Crew members were at work on a section of track near the overpass Sunday.
I’ve notified the Declare Emergency & Just Stop Oil folks.
They speak the truth:
1. The future of humanity is at stake.
2. The science is clear: the use of fossil fuels must end, immediately, if we hope to survive.
3. This is genocidal. This is criminal. This is insane.
4. What you can do: civil disobedience & resistance, vandalism, and direct action.
For example, glue your hands to the railroad tracks or Hasso’s favorite locomotive. Yell “not in my name” as loud as you can.
You’ll get more attention for your cause if you glue one hand twice. It’s not the veracity of your statement, but just repeat things often enough and it becomes your truth.
I’d put my faith in that astute analysis. This commenter should be our next mayor.
It’s good to clean up the environment, otherrwise it ends up in our bodies.
So, where do they dispose the “tainted dirt?, YOU can’t wash it so??????
Waverly Lake perhaps?