Eugene Railyard Contamination

There are a number of cities in Oregon that have rail yards next to residential neighborhoods. The site in Eugene has been used as a railroad yard since the 1800. The operations conducted on this site have included locomotive maintenance, refueling, tie treatment and pesticide applications. Union Pacific moved most of its operations to other yards in 1999, but continues to link cars into trains, and fuel locomotives at this site. Central Oregon and Pacific Railroad leases the Diesel shop from UPRR. Pesticide application is also an ongoing site maintenance activity.

The impacts of rail yard contamination on human and environmental health and residential property investments have never been addressed on a national or trans-national scale. There are several reasons as to why this is true:

• Due to their liability, Union Pacific Rail Road prefers not to raise the issue of environmental contamination and the resulting negative impacts on human health and property values;

• Risk assessments are conducted by industry-hired consultants tend to be limited in scope and do not fully address human health risks;

• Industry risk assessments are overseen by state agencies who lack the authority to enforce a clean-up plan that will protect the health of children;

• UPRR prefers to sell rail yards for industrial use, thus avoiding the necessity of remediating existing contamination that continues to affect nearby residential neighborhoods;

• As is often the case, neighborhoods adjoining industrial areas are occupied by people with the lowest incomes. The health and welfare of these individuals seldom becomes a high priority for the community at large.

In April 2000, UPPR completed a risk assessment under DEQ oversight evaluating potential health risks from several types of residential exposures to volatile chemicals. The primary type of exposure that was tested for the risk assessment was contaminated drinking well water. Ground water samples revealed the presence of a contaminated plume located directly under the Trainsong Neighborhood and traveling north under the River Road Neighborhood. The plume contains over a dozen volatile organic compounds (see end notes for a list of VOC’s).

The assessment also considered the movement of volatile solvents from ground water into indoor air in neighborhood homes, contact with ground water, and eating homegrown produce irrigated with contaminated well water – however no testing was conducted for these types of exposures.

DEQ has thus far said that the health risks presented by this site fall within “acceptable” ranges, based on modeling practices. However, neighbors report unusual illness patterns, unreported chemicals spills along the tracks, and ongoing herbicide spraying trespass onto residences. Residents feel abandoned by the DEQ, a state agency that lacks the authority to require Union Pacific perform a comprehensive risk assessment or clean-up the contamination.

The test results on ground water samples from the risk assessment was reviewed by Dr. Stephen Lester, Science director for the Center for Health, Environment and Justice. On October 23, 2002 he wrote a letter with his evaluation of the risk assessment data in which he concluded that “ many of the chemicals found in the ground water are toxic and will affect people who breathe the fumes from this groundwater plume as well as people who use the water for drinking, bathing, showering, washing, and possibly other uses. [These chemicals] can all affect the liver and the central nervous system . . . and are considered to be likely human carcinogens.” Lester concluded that “ . . . steps taken to cleanup the contamination and reduce the risks that exist.”