Railroad spraying deadly, archaic

To the editor:

The Alaska Railroad is proposing to spray the herbicide glysophate (Roundup) throughout its route for weed control.

This same proposal was rejected two years ago. Why? Because glysophate will be sprayed on, over and next to waterways and the Cook Inlet. This chemical herbicide has a nasty habit. It does not just kill weeds along the railroad tracks, it seeps into soil and water not intentionally targeted.

Once glysophate gets into land and water organisms, this deadly chemical accumulates on up the food chain. It bio-magnifies to scary disproportion in fish, small and large mammals, and you and me — our human bodies. Study after study links it to cancer and other health issues.

Europe flatly refuses to use glysophate because of the risks. There is a viable alternative — infrared steam heat.

I strongly urge the railroad to withdraw the poorly conceived glysophate proposal. It is time for it to usher in the modern, health-friendly technology of infrared steam heat for weed control.

Ellen Vande Visse

Palmer