Hello my name is Dr. Amy Haynes. I've worked as a physician in Missoula for 28 years.
My office is over here on 2nd and orange right in the coal trains kill zone.
It is a fact that putting that much particulate from coal into our air shed will dramatically
increase the diagnosis of asthma, pneumonia, lung and sinus infection, allergies,
emphysema, COPD and cancer; lung, esophageal and stomach, and cardiovascular
diseases as well. We know this. Medical research supports this as a fact. Death from
asthma and emphysema is really dreadful. We all know what death from cancer and
chemotherapy looks like. Well, emphysema and asthma are equally no fun. Your lungs
fill up and you will drown slowly and quite painfully. No cure really just some medication.
So look around because it will happen to us, the people in this room including the city
council members. Everyone who breathes will be at risk.
Coal dust is not the only health risk. The carbon particulate often has a rider attached to
it; lead and mercury are a few of the more lethal attachments. These toxic metals
accumulate in our bodies and have serious impact on our immune system, our
neurological system and our endocrine system. These particulates stay in our
environment for decades as dust on the trees and plant, on our rooftops, on our
porches, in our gardens, on the food we grow in the city.
The real sorrow will be what will happen to our children. Lowell school is also in the kill
zone. We can't imagine the long term health consequences to our sons and daughters.
The health consequences for our children are broad and long term, lasting for decades.
The economic cost is immeasurable.
We may be tempted to compare this situation with what happened to the good citizens
of Libby, Montana. But I don't think it is the same. Mainly because the citizens of Libby
were lied to by the perpetrators of their toxic pollution. We all know ahead of time what
to expect from these coal trains.
I know our city council is in quite a jam, because how can they possibly enforce the no
burning/wood stove use laws, and allow so much more toxic particulate to come
through. A Missoulian can't burn wood to keep warm but a train is allowed to do
hundreds of times more damage. The citizens of Missoula have already let their needs
be known. We have passed laws on pollution emission standards. We have spent
millions of dollars cleaning up our air, our water, our land. Our city has already set a
precedence with emission and particulate control. We have spent millions of dollars
trying to control the nasty inversions we used to get every winter. And yet, a coal train is
about to take precedence over our citizens.
I agree, let's pass the resolution, but we need to do so much more. We have not even
begun. We shouldn't sacrifice the good of the many for the profits of the few.
Thank you for your time.