Environmental Justice PDF
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University of Maryland
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Summary
This document discusses environmental justice issues, particularly focusing on environmental racism, toxic waste, and the disproportionate burdens faced by minority communities. It highlights historical injustices and contemporary examples in the United States, including the Memphis sanitation strike and the Warren County, NC PCB landfill.
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Make sure to watch videos later! Environmental Justice Environmental justice - fair treatment to everyone with respect to the environmental laws and policies ○ Making sure everyone has the same degree of environmental protection...
Make sure to watch videos later! Environmental Justice Environmental justice - fair treatment to everyone with respect to the environmental laws and policies ○ Making sure everyone has the same degree of environmental protection and access to the decisions making process that shapes their environment Not universally representative ○ Misunderstands difference between equity and equality ○ Devalues experiences of people facing EJ concerns environmental injustice - the problems that some groups or societies suffer more harms and have greater risks ○ Specifically when the harm is because another group is seeking benefits by taking advantage of others ○ Ex: hazardous waste facility in a low income community Environmental injustice has occurred in the U.S for decades Memphis sanitation strike ○ Two memphis garbage collectors, Echol Cole and Robert Walker, were crushed to death by a malfunctioning truck ○ 700 men went on strike and the local NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) chapter supported them ○ Martin Luther King Jr. also joined the fight He got shot and died, which intensified the strike Coretta Scott King led a silent march in honor of him ○ A deal was final met for better wages and unionization Environmental Racism - disproportionate targeting of minority communities for toxic burdens (landfills, waste hazard cites) Warren County, NC - PCB Landfill ○ Robert Burns’ trucking company was hired by Ward Transformer Company to disposed of PCB-laden transformer fluid ○ Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) says that the transformer fluid should have been brought to a special facility for disposal which is more expensive ○ For three weeks, Robert Burns and his songs dumped 31,000 gallons of transformer fluid onto the roadway They contaminated the soil with dioxins and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) ○ S tates posted warning signs on the road and the dumpers and company owner were jailed and fined under the Toxic Substance Control Act (TSCA) ○ States removed contaminated soil from roadways and was planned to be dumped in in a landfill in a minority community in Warren County Protests for 4 years, but the landfill project was stilled signed of 1 994 - President Clinton signed the federal actions to address EJ in Minority and low-income populations ○ Highlighted disproportionate burden Southwest organizing project (SWOP) - created to empower communities in the southwest to realize economic justice and racial equality Indigenous environmental network - helped protect the sacred sites and resources of the indigenous communities Radium girls ○ U.S. Radium Corporation in Orange, New Jersey ○ Used radium to hand paint watches and licked the brushes to sharpen them ○ Suffered anemia, deterioration of jaw bones, and cancerous tumors ○ Multiple lawsuits were initiated and won by workers and family members Flint Michigan’s Water Crisis ○ Water source switched from detroit water to Flint River to save money ○ Not properly treated to lead leached into water Louisiana’s Cancer Alley ○ Long stretch of land polluted with chemicals and fossil fuels ○ Black and impoverished communities have high risk of cancer Dakota Access Pipeline and Indigenous Land ○ Long underground pipeline to transport oil ○ Failures can cause widespread environmental impacts Environmental Law and Policy Environmental Policy - framework of deliberate actions to prevent, reduce, or alleviate any harmful effects on nature and natural resources Environmental law - court decisions related to protecting the environment Environmental Policy Environmental Law ecision-making framework to achieve a D tandard, principles, and procedures that S desired effect in society must be followed and measured in society Informal - statement or document of what Formal - system of rules and guidelines is intended to be done in the future for implementing justice in society an lead to laws or to the amendment of C an be modified/reviewed but not lead to C laws new policies dministered by state institutions or A dministered by courts, making them A officials legally enforceable M ost often, laws, policies, and regulations are REACTIVE, not PROACTIVE Policy Process Life Cycle ○ 1) Discussion and Debate ○ 2) Political Action ○ 3) Legislative Proposal ○ 4) Law and Regulation ○ 5) Compliance U.S Constitution allocates power among three branches of government ○ Congress - legislative powers ○ executive branch - executive powers ○ Courts - judicial powers Most cases regarding environmental impacts were decided by common law ○ Common law - law that has been developed on the basis of preceding rulings by judges ○ Statutory laws - written laws passed by legislature and government which are then accepted by society World Health Organization (WHO) ○ Responsible for environmental health at the global level; ○ Designed to respond to outbreaks and provide guidance on health issues, but is not a “world health police” U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ○ Mission - protect human health and the environment ○ EPA has committed to making equity, environmental justice, and civil rights a centerpiece of their mission National Environmental Policy Act ○ Ensures that all branches of government give proper consideration to the environment before undertaking major federal action ○ Includes, transparence, informed decision making, public input, and accountability Clean Air Act ○ Regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources ○ Authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and regulate emissions of air pollutants ○ E stablished national emission standards for hazardous air pollutants - a company must apply for a permit to release hazardous substances ○ Established criminal sanctions for non-compliance Clean Water Act ○ Original the Federal Water Pollution Control Act ○ Established basic structure for regulating pollutants discharged into water Safe Drinking Water Act ○ Established to protect the quality of drinking water in the U.S. ○ Authorizes EPA to establish Maximum contaminant levels in tap water Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) ○ National law that regulated the introducing of new or existing chemicals ○ Provides EPA with authority to require testing requirements and restrictions when it comes to chemical substances and mixtures Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) ○ Provides “superfund” to clean up abandoned waste sites and spills of pollutants into the environment ○ EPA given power to seek out parties responsible and ensure their cooperation in the cleanup Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) ○ EPA controls hazardous waste in general, transportation, and disposal (from cradle to grave) Endangered Species Act ○ Program for the conservation of endangered plants, animals, and habitats Toxic Metals Include heavy metals and other metallic compounds Featured in the CERCLA National Priority List of Hazardous Substances ○ Not a list of most toxic substances ○ List of substances that pose the most significant potential threat to human health Known toxicity, human exposure, frequency of occurrence Potential routes of exposures for metals ○ Inhalation - dusts, air pollution emissions, metal fumes and vapors ○ Dermal - skin contact with contaminated dust Consumer products: skin lightening creams (mercury) ○ Ingestion - contaminated water and food Non-dietary: dust, soil Maryland Senate Bill - Maryland Department of Natural Resources would establish a process to phase out the use of lead-based ammunition for hunting L ead in paint and gasoline was bad - removed Lead toxicity - lower IQ, hypertension, miscarriages ○ Lead crosses the blood brain barrier in children Methylmercury bioaccumulates up the food chain ○ Exposure through diet (fish) ○ Brain and nervous system effects Elemental Mercury ○ Vapors ○ Tremors, mood swings, headaches Inorganic Mercury ○ Ingestion of creams ○ Gastrointestinal tract and the kidneys can be impaired Minamata Bay ○ Chemical company dumped mercury into the bay ○ Got into fish and people got really sick Energy Fossil fuels ○ Solid (coal), liquid (oil), gas (natural gases) ○ Non renewable energy source U.S. possesses the most coal of any nation Strip mining - for extraction near the surface; heavy machinery scrapes away hughes amounts of the earth Subsurface mining - for deposits deep underground; vertical shafts are dug and networks of horizontal tunnels are blasted to follow layers (seams) of coal Mountaintop removal mining - for mining coal on immense scales, such as in the appalachian mountains; blasting away entire mountaintops Crude oil - oil extracted from the ground before it is refined Natural gas - gas made up of methane and other volatile hydrocarbons Petroleum - collective term for oil and natural gas hydraulic fracturing - pumps high pressure chemically treated water into the crack to open them; used when oil and natural gas is trapped tightly in the rock Coal: used for thousands of years to cook food, heat homes, run steam engines ○ Now helps generate electricity in coal-fired power plants Natural gases: used to generate electricity in power plants and cook food ○ Can be shipped long distances and emits less fossil fuel than coal and oil ○ Viewed as bridge fuel to transition to more renewable energy Effects of coal mining ○ Strip and mountaintop mining - removal of landscape and ecosystem disruption ○ Subsurface mining causes acid mine drainage Pyrite (from coal) is exposed and reacted with air and water -> water is more acidic and has high concentrations of metals Disrupts growth of plants and animals ○ subsurface mining - dust, silica (quartz) Pneumoconiosis - fibrosis associated with exposure to dust or silica Specifically from coal dust - black lung Specifically from silica - silicosis ○ Hydrauling fracturing (fracking) - impacts drinking water, air pollution, and our climate Fracking fluid returns to the surface and is contaminated with radium and other toxic chemicals; can leak into aquifers Fly ash - from burning finely ground coal in a boiler - contains mercury, arsenic, copper and chromium ○ Occupational exposure - workers at coal power plants ○ Respiratory effects - COPD, asthma Bottom ash - heavier coarse material at the bottom of a coal surface - contains cresol, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons ○ Animals can ingest the soil ○ Kidney damage and cancer risk Radiation Radiation - energy in the form of electromagnetic waves or particulate matter, traveling through space Wilhelm Rontgen revealed the first x-ray photo through modifying a Crookes tubes Pierre and Marie Curie developed the theory of radioactivity - emitting radiation spontaneously ○ Techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes ○ Discovered polonium and radium Ionizing Radiation (higher energy) Non-ionizing radiation (lower energy) o much energy it can knock electrons S nough energy to cause electrons to E out of atoms (ionization) vibrate, but not enough to remove them an affect atoms of living things by C nough energy to move atoms around in E damaging tissue and DNA in genes a molecule ealth effects - fatigue, nausea, internal H ealth effects - pain, swelling, eye injury, H bleeding, death cancer Ultraviolet radiation, x-rays, gamma rays adio Waves, microwaves, infrared R radiation, visible light Natural sources of ionizing radiation ○ Cosmic rays - high energy charged particles, x-rays, and gamma rays that react with the earth’s atmosphere to produce secondary radiation which reaches the earth ○ Radon - naturally occurring odorless gas from the natural breakdown of uranium in soil, rock, and water ○ Food - bananas and brazil nuts have potassium (nuts have radium too) Human made sources of ionizing radiation ○ Consumer products - tanning beds ○ Nuclear power generation facilities and their waste ○ Radioactive fallout from testing and making nuclear weapons ○ X-ray and computed tomography (CT) machines; radiation therapy Factors that govern the amount of exposure to radiation that a person receives (dose delivered) include: ○ The total amount of time exposed to the radioactive source ○ Distance from the radioactive source ○ Regress of radioactivity (rate of energy emission) of a radioactive material Sievert (Sv) - a unit that represents the health risk of ionizing radiation; the probability of causing radiation induced cancer and genetic damage Non-stochastic (acute) health effects of ionizing radiation ○ Tissue burns, radiation sickness (nausea, weakness, loss of hair) ○ Low levels does not produce immediately detectable hard ○ High levels are capable of producing fatal injuries Stochastic (chronic) health effects of ionizing radiation ○ Low levels of exposure to radiation of long periods ○ Carcinogenesis (specifically thyroid gland) and genetic damage (changes in DNA) Government made and tested lots of nuclear weapons during the Cold War ○ Radioactive fallout - radioactive substances released by these tests and carried thousands of miles away by winds ○ People in U.S. exposed to iodine-131; collects in the thyroid gland and causes cancer Non-ionizing radiation: Ultraviolet light ○ Types - UVA, UVB, UVC ○ Sources - tanning beds, flood lamps for photos, lightning ○ Temporary effects - burns and temporary blinding ○ Long term effects - malignant melanoma, retinal damage Occupations at high exposure to radiation ○ Healthcare workers - radiologic technologists, dentists ○ Nuclear power plant workers - waste management ○ Miners Alternative Energy Nuclear power - derived from the controlled splitting of uranium atoms Nuclear fuel cycle ○ Front end - uranium is mined and ultimately fabricated into a form that can be used as fuel in a power plant ○ Middle stage - the generation of electricity at nuclear power plants ○ Back end - the disposal of the radioactive wastes produced by power plants Advantages of nuclear energy ○ Less air pollution-related deaths compared to fossil fuels (coal) ○ Helps respond to climate change and reduce greenhouse gas emissions ○ Low cost of operation after the initial cost of construction Disadvantages of nuclear energy ○ Workers exposed to radon -> lung cancer ○ Exposed to silica and dust -> silicosis and black lung ○ Nuclear waste contains extremely toxic chemicals such as plutonium (takes thousands of years to not be radioactive anymore) What happens to nuclear waste? ○ Goes in a reactor for 5 years in containers called assemblies ○ Then stored in a cool pool for five more years - cool temp helps cool the fuel and block radiation from being released ○ Places in a concrete and steel container called a dry cask ○ No permanent place for the waste after this EPA is helping clean up 50 abandoned mine sites from uranium ore extraction in the Navajo lands U.S.’s newest nuclear power plant - Vogtle in Georgia ○ Largest source of clean energy in the U.S. Triple Nuclear Energy - a bunch of countries pledged to triple nuclear energy capacity by 2050 ○ Goal to achieve global net-zero greenhouse gas emissions Nuclear regulatory commission (NRC) - created to protect people and the environment and ensure the safe use of radioactive materials Nuclear waste policy act - the government must find a place for the waste that can be isolated for at least 10,000 years L ow-level radioactive waste policy amendments act - gave states the responsibility of how to dispose of their low-level radioactive waste - states can enter into compacts for joint disposal Nuclear energy innovation and modernization act (NEIMA) - directs the NRC to move more quickly through regulations Solar energy - capturing solar radiation and turning it into useful forms of energy ○ Photovoltaic (PV) cells - sun shines onto a solar panel and energy from the sun is absorbed by the PV cells in the panel; when enough energy is absorbed, electrons are discharged and creates an imbalance which creates a voltage and creates electricity ○ Concentrated solar power (CSP) - curved mirrors or lenses reflect and concentrate a large area of sunlight onto a receiver; this concerts the energy into heat to be used or stored for later use Solar energy advantages ○ Reduces greenhouse gas emissions ○ Creates green collar jobs Solar energy disadvantages ○ Expensive ○ Gets rid of land for wildlife Historically, windmills were used to pump groundwater to the surface Small wind power units provide power directly to a residence Wind turbines - wind blowing turns the blades of a rotor and a gearbox converts the rotational speed into higher speeds, which helps produce electricity Advantages of wind power ○ Reduces greenhouse gas emissions ○ Creates green collar jobs Disadvantages of wind power ○ Intermittent resource - do not know when wind will occur ○ Wildlife hazards - birds can hit them and get hurt Geothermal energy - thermal energy that arises from beneath Earth’s surface Advantages of geothermal energy ○ Reduces greenhouse gas emissions ○ Resupply ground water - geothermal power plants inject the water they use back into the earth Disadvantages of geothermal energy ○ Region restricted - iceland, california, and yellowstone national park are the only places because they have naturally heated groundwater ○ Water depletion - if a geothermal plant uses heated water faster than the groundwater can recharge Water Quality Surface water - all water on the earth’s surface (e.g. lakes, reservoirs, ponds, and oceans) Groundwater - water that is contained in the interconnected pores in an aquifer Aquifer - a layer of earth that contains freshwater Federal water pollution control act - first major U.S. law to address water pollution Clean water act - establishes the basic structure for regulating discharges of pollutants into the waters of the U.S. and regulating quality standards for surface waters Safe drinking water act (SDWA) ○ Establishes minimum standards to protect drinking water from public water system ○ Protects drinking water against naturally occurring and human made contaminants ○ Does NOT regulate private drinking wells Stages of water treatment ○ Coagulation - addition of chemical that bind to impurities in the water ○ Flocculation - gentle mixing of the water to form heavier particles called flocs ○ Sedimentation - causes heavy floc particles to settle to the bottom of tanks for collection ○ Filtration - removes smaller particles ○ Disinfection - addition of chlorine or treatment with UV light to destroy any remaining parasites, bacteria, or viruses Bottled water regulated by FDA Chlorine helps decrease waterborne infections (cholera and typhoid fever) Fluoride helps prevent tooth decay - added to water Natural causes of drinking water contamination - microbial organisms, soils, decaying tree leaves/branches, natural rock formations ○ Microorganisms in drinking water can cause diarrhea and liver damage Human made causes of drinking water contamination - chemicals, rubber (from roads), petroleum, heavy metals Sources of water pollution - agriculture, industry, municipal/domestic Farming is responsible for 70% of current water pollution ○ Fertilizers, pesticides, animal wastes Industrial water pollution - heavy metals, solvents, acids municipal/domestic water pollution - oils and salts from streets via stormwater Point source of pollution - pollution from a single, known source ○ Pipe, ditch, chanell, tunnel, animal feeding operation ○ Does not include agricultural storm water discharges Nonpoint source pollution - everything else lol ○ Does not have a single identifiable source ○ Land runoff, precipitation, drainage ○ Typically diffuse and end up on the ground Human pressures on the ocean - overharvesting and coastal degradation ○ Overdevelopment and untreated wastewater Plastics reach our oceans from illegal dumping -> death of marine life Rainwater harvesting - process of collecting and storing rainwater ○ Help conserve drinking water and reduce stormwater runoff ○ Could have microbial contaminants from when it gets on the roof Waste Waste - unwanted material or substance that results from human activity or processes Municipal solid waste - non liquid waste that comes from homes, institutions, and small businesses Industrial waste - from production of consumer goods, mining, agriculture, petroleum extraction and refining Hazardous waste - solid or liquid waste that is toxic, corrosive, chemically reactive, flammable or corrosive Wastewater - water we use in our households, businesses, industries, or public facilities and drain or flush down our pipes as well as the polluted runoff from our street and storm drains Historical waste disposal methods ○ Dumping waste in oceans, wetlands, or any land ○ Piggeries - small pig farms designated to consume the town’s raw and uncooked food waste ○ Sanitary landfills in england - waste deposited in thin layers and compacted by bulldozers ○ America named “the throwaway society” because of the use of plastics Solid waste disposal act - granted authority to the U.S. Public Health service to ○ Provide money to assist in solid waste management plans ○ Provide technical assistant to management authorities ○ Conduct research Resource Conservation and Recovery Act granted the EPA authority of management of solid and hazardous waste ○ Hazardous waste had to be be tracked from its generation to disposal Municipal solid waste (MSW) - various unwanted items that consumers throw away after they are used (trash or garbage) Waste management hierarchy Source reduction and reuse ○ ○ recycling/composting ○ Energy recovery ○ Treatment and disposal Source reduction - reducing waste at the source ○ Ex: ship things in one box instead of two Recycling - the process of collecting and reprocessing a resource so it can be used again Composting - the aerobic biological decomposition of organic materials to produce humus-like product ○ Produces a material that resembles soil and can be used for gardening Incineration (combustion) - a controlled process in which garbage is burned at very high temperatures; the remaining ash is deposited in landfills ○ No attempt it made to separate and recycle components Leachate - water that collects contaminants as it trickles through wastes and may results in hazardous substances entering surface water, groundwater, or soil ○ Solvents, cleaning agents, methane, and VOCs How a sanitary landfill works ○ The bottom is lined with a dense layer of clay and sealed with thick plastic sheeting to contain leaks of hazardous materials ○ A flexible membrane liner holds in toxic chemicals that might contaminate groundwater ○ A leachate sump collects leachates, which then can be subjected to further treatment ○ Garbage is piled up in rows; bulldozers and rollers compact the garbage; at the end of the day, the newly added garbage is covered with soil ○ After the garbage is covered, anaerobic bacteria aid in the decomposition of organic materials and produce methane gas Dangers associated with landfills ○ Air Pollution and groundwater contamination ○ Methane from landfills is a greenhouse gas Sources of hazardous waste - From the home, Medical waste, industrial waste, radioactive waste, mining waste Industrial countries make a bunch of waste - superfund helps clean it up Super fund helps clean up sites ○ High costs of cleanup ○ Human health effects ○ Ecological damage Love canal ○ Former site for disposal of toxic wastes ○ H ooker Chemical Company covered the canal with soil and sold it to the city for $1 ○ People built homes and schools on this land and got super sick ○ Led to the creation of CERCLA and the superfund CERCLA - Authorized by the EPA to address the nation’s hazardous waste sites ○ Prioritize those that pose the greatest potential risk to human health or the environment ○ Polluter pays principle - making responsible polluters liable for cleanup costs Also taxed the chemical and petroleum industries to establish a trust fund for cleaning up waste sites Sewage - waste and wastewater produced by residential and commercial sources and discharged into sewer Stages of sewage treatment ○ Preliminary - screening to remove large solid materials ○ Primary - settlement and removal of suspended solids ○ Secondary - microorganisms eat organic material remaining in sewage ○ Tertiary - filtration to remove remaining solids and microorganisms Wastewater must receive at least secondary treatment Wastewater - water that has been used in the home, in a business, or as part of an industrial process Surveillance - routine testing of a source for microorganisms, chemicals, etc Why monitor wastewater ○ Snapshot of entire population ○ More efficient than clinical testing ○ Can find microbes in poop Occupational Health Occupational health - focused on promoting and maintaining the physical, mental, and social well-being of workers in all occupations Occupational disease - health outcomes that are caused or influenced by exposure to general conditions or specific hazard encountered in the work environment Bernardino ramazzini - father of occupational medicine ○ Wrote diseases of workers - highlighted risks of hazardous chemicals, dusts, metals used in the workplace Percival pott - identified relationship between chimney sweepers and scrotum cancer Alice hamilton - founder of industrial hygiene and investigated worker illness C esar chavez - co-founder of United Farm Workers association with delores huerta ○ Requires workers to get resting periods, clean drinking water, hand washing stations, and protective clothing against pesticides Triangle shirtwaist company fire - fire from cigarette butt in the scrap bin ○ Workers had contact with hazardous machinery, crowding, no ventilation, no PPE ○ 146 women died Gauley Bridge disaster - workers worked on the Hawk’s Nest tunnel to divert water to a hydroelectric plant downstream ○ Did not have adequate protection and got exposed to silica dust - silicosis Radium girls - radium caused bone cancer Agricultural workers - pesticide exposure, loud noises Coal miners - coal dust exposure Office workers - stress, and musculoskeletal disorders OSH Act - encouraged states to provide safe working conditions and provided research, information, and training about occupational safety Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA)- regulation/enforcement National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) - research and prevention recommendations Common occupational diseases ○ Hearing loss - loud noise ○ Pneumoconiosis - dusts ○ Traumatic injuries - workplace accidents ○ Fertility and pregnancy abnormalities - chemicals, ionizing radiation Hearing loss is the most common occupational disease PEL - permissible exposure limit ○ Legally binding, OSHA REL - recommended exposure limit ○ Not legally binding or enforceable, NIOSH TLV - threshold limit value ○ Suggested level below which most workers will not be adversely affected Worker rights under OSH act ○ Right to complain of workplace violation ○ Right to know about potential hazards ○ Right to review exposure and medical records Musculoskeletal disorders - carpal tunnel, low back injuries ○ From lifting heaving items, sedentary body position, repetitive taks Hierarchy of controls ○ Elimination - physically remove the hazard ○ ubstitution - replace the hazard S ○ Engineering controls - isolate people from the hazard ○ Administrative controls - change the way people work ○ PPE - protect the workers with personal protective equipment
