PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 6, 2021
The toxic fumes from South Portland’s tank farm have, for years, made me and my loved ones ill. I’ve come to call them “the cancer fumes.” Nausea, headaches, swollen glands and heart pain are among our symptoms when petroleum fumes suffuse the neighborhood, often at night. With our home near Gulf tanks, shopping next to Citgo tanks and workplace near Global and Sprague tanks, cancer fumes are unavoidable. Having lost one family member, a lifelong resident and employee of South Portland, to cancer, I worry for all of us. Our bodies should no longer be used as oil industry sacrifice zones for profit. Tank farm owners should be mandated by law to fully mitigate 100 percent of their petroleum fumes on their property. ~ Pamela Cragin, South Portland