• In other news, Greenpeace USA contacted me last week to point out that while Portland's EAST END WASTEWATER TREATMENT FACILITY switched from chlorine gas to high-strength bleach in their disinfection process, many similar facilities across the country have not yet made that change. "Around the country . . . there are cities that have treatment facilities using 90-ton rail cars of chlorine gas as the feedstock for their disinfection process," Maine native John Deans, who works for Greenpeace's Toxics Campaign, wrote in an e-mail. "If one of these facilities was hit by a terrorist or if there was an accident, a leak could kill or injure thousands of people." The worldwide organization is encouraging Maine senators Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins to support the Secure Water Facilities Act, which is currently before the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and would require high-risk facilities that still use chlorine gas to switch to a safer alternative. "Senators Collins and Snowe could be important voices in moving this legislation forward," Deans said.
Deirdre Fulton can be reached atdfulton@phx.com.
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