Brief Overview of Issues I'm Writing Songs to Represent:

2009-03-04T15:43:00.001-08:00

This song will be composed to highlight the success of the Love Canal Homeowner’s Association (LCHA) in ensuring the federal relocation of over 900 families as a result of toxic chemical contaminant exposure. The Love Canal disaster is one of the more widely known relocation cases and was the reason the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act, better known as the Superfund Act, was created. Lois Gibbs, the leading advocate for the LCHA has spent the subsequent three decades lobbying for the same environmental human rights for communities all over the U.S. and the world. She has created the Center for Health, the Environment & Justice to further her crusade.

https://www.msu.edu/course/isb/202/snapshot.afs/ebertmay/images/Love_Canal_protest.jpg

In 1979, the EPA said Love Canal exhibited a "disturbingly high rate of miscarriages...Love Canal can now be added to a growing list of environmental disasters involving toxics, ranging from industrial workers stricken by nervous disorders and cancers to the discovery of toxic materials in the milk of nursing mothers." The EPA announced the result of blood tests that showed high white blood cell counts, a precursor to leukemia, and chromosome damage in Love Canal residents. (EPA). On, May 21, 1980, President Carter declared a state of emergency at Love Canal and the EPA agreed to temporarily evacuate 700 families. Eventually, the government permanently relocated more than 800 families and reimbursed them for their houses.

According to a subsequent study by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, 421 chemical contaminants were found in the air, water and soil around Love Canal (University of Buffalo). In 1983, over 1300 residents of the Canal area received a settlement for almost $20 Million dollars from Occidental Petroleum, the parent company of Hooker Chemical. A $1 Million public health trust fund was also set up (CHEJ). In 1995 the EPA sued Occidental Petroleum. They agreed to pay $129 Million in restitution for federal cleanup, and $98 Million to cover state clean-up costs. Although some cleanup has been done on the site, it is by no means fully remediated. A trench has been dug around the canal, and it has been capped with clay. Discharge sewers to the Niagara River have been sealed off. A chain link fence has been placed around the 99th Street School site. Hundreds of homes have been leveled by the state. Homeowners are entitled to stay in their homes until their death, but the houses are to be deeded back to the state upon their death. Houses that the state deems safe for occupancy can be bought for below-market value if the new owner signs away their right to sue and receives full disclosure of the site contamination. Those homes can then be re-sold, providing the owners give the new tenants full disclosure. In the 1990’s, part of Love Canal was renamed Black Creek Village by the Love Canal Revitalization Committee and nine homes on the site were available for sale.

2. Citizens Against Toxic Exposure

The Citizens Against Toxic Exposure (CATE) is a community action group located in Pensacola, Florida. Founded in 1992, their primary focus is to ensure the safety and public health of residents living near the Escambia Treating Company waste site, commonly referred to as “Mt. Dioxin.” Escambia operated on the site from 1943-1982 in the business of chemically treating wood for construction and utility use. Toxic wastes from this treatment, most notably dioxins, furans, creosote, arsenic, dieldrin, napthalene, and benzene were disposed of in unlined landfills and ponds, and in unlabeled drums. Flooding and erosion caused contaminants to rise above ground and into surrounding area and water. The site was originally classified by the EPA in 1991 and designated an “emergency removal” action site. This differs from Superfund designation in that it gives the EPA a chance to quickly remediate a situation without citizen input and participation and is not concerned with any matters of public health. The EPA removed some soil from the site, yet left the majority unearthed in a mound on site. “Mt. Dioxin” is this mound of over 250,000 cubic yard of contaminated soil that was not transported away, simply covered with a 5-year plastic liner and left in this industrial and residential center of greater Pensacola.

“Mt. Dioxin” (available at: http://onlineethics.org/cms/17464.aspx)

The Escambia Treating site is situated on top of the groundwater aquifer for the county’s drinking water. A plume of underground contamination is seeping into the aquifer and also discharging into the nearby recreational fishing waters of Bayou Texar. In 1996, the EPA yielded to CATE’s pressure and reclassified the site as a Superfund. In the past decade 408 families have been successfully relocated, making this the third largest relocation site in our country’s history. CATE is still advocating for thorough cleanup of the area and containment of Mt. Dioxin. The organization seeks health care for all in the area, especially those that have health conditions as a result of the contamination. CATE has made it an issue to protect the larger Pensacola community- not just CATE members.

3. River Contamination in Saginaw County Michigan & Dow Industrial Corporation

Dioxins and furans are some of the most toxic chemicals known to man, dioxin being a known carcinogen in both animals and humans (http://www.ejnet.org/dioxin/). Dioxins and furans are a byproduct of several industrial processes involving chlorine, including waste incineration, chemical manufacturing and paper bleaching. Dioxins and furans were byproducts from the manufacture of chlorine-based products by Dow Chemical. Past waste disposal practices, fugitive emissions and incineration at Dow have resulted in on and off site dioxin and furan contamination (EPA Region 5).

In 2007, the Dow Midland Plant’s dioxin contamination levels in the Saginaw River and Tittabawassee River Basin were the highest in recorded history (EPA). A sediment sampling at Wickes Park, a centrally located point on the Saginaw River, half-a-mile down stream from the Tittabawassee River, revealed dioxin levels in excess of 1.6 parts per million. The EPA’s action level to trigger soil cleanup is 1,000 parts per trillion: these levels are more than 1,000 times higher. State guidelines also require corrective action for dioxin in commercial and industrial area above 1,000ppt, with the residential contact limit set at 90ppt.

http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/64/114864-004-EFAA91B0.jpg

Dow Chemical is a major partner and corporate citizen in adjacent Midland County, Saginaw County, Saginaw City, and the State of Michigan. Yet the company is dodging their responsibility to right the wrongs of their past. Dow admits it discharged dioxins into the river and air from its Midland plant for many years though it says it stopped the practice decades ago. Dow also acknowledged it polluted the Tittabawassee floodplain with dioxins for many years. The dioxin has been traced to Dow waste discharges into the river between 1915 and 1937 (TRWNews.net). Dow has acknowledged its responsibility for the contamination, but has done nothing to assess and or ensure the health of the residents.

A lawsuit has been filed since 2002, and as a class-action suit in 2005, whereby more than 126 residents are suing Dow for compensation since their property value has gone down. Because of contamination they are unable to sell their homes and move away. It is estimated that there are as many as 2,000 residents who live in the River floodplain who may also be eligible for compensation from this lawsuit (TRWNews.net). Citizens were also suing for the company to set up a medical trust fund to ensure adequate testing and health-care treatments for affected residents. Unfortunately in 2005, the Michigan State Supreme Court denied this portion of the lawsuit by a ruling of 5 to 2. Here are a few excerpted quotes from the outvoted two judges’ dissent opinion in support of the citizens’ medical fund:
“This is fabrication at its most unforgivable–refusing to acknowledge that providing these plaintiffs with the opportunity to merely seek an equitable remedy is well within the bounds of judicial discretion and will not devastate the economy or cause sick children to die. …

“If defendant cannot produce its product without behaving responsibly, then it has no business operating within our state. …

“Today, our Court has shirked its duty to protect plaintiffs and the people of our state, thereby leaving defendant’s practices and interests unassailed. …

As such, I must respectfully dissent.
Michael F. Cavanaugh
Marilyn Kelly”
(available at TRWNews.net)

Dow is still appealing the MI Supreme courts decision to allow the class action suit. The floodplain citizens, along with the County Department of Community Health and NGO’s The Lone Tree Council and the Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination, continue fighting for citizen rights.

4. Mountain Top Removal in Appalachia

Mountain top removal, or surface mining, is a method of coal extraction that has become much more prevalent in the past two decades. By using massive amounts of explosives, layers of vegetation, soil and rock are blasted off of the mountain until the stratified coal seams are exposed. Huge dragline excavators remove the coal to be processed and fill the mountain rubble and soil into the nearby hollers (or hollows). Coal Sludge, essentially the toxic processing wastes from mining is stored in open-air earthen dams, sometimes in extremely close proximity to communities (see Marsh Fork Elementary below). While it may be true that mountain top removal (MTR) reduces some of the immediate work hazards inherent in traditional underground coal mining, the negative impacts of this practice are numerable and irreversible, posing a great threat to both the landscape and the health and welfare of the surrounding communities.

Along with Wyoming, the Appalachian states of West Virginia and Kentucky account for roughly 60% of the coal production in the United States and use 50% of the country’s 3.16 Million tons of explosives to do so by MTR (USGS). Explosive blasts are permitted to occur 24 hours a day up to 300 feet from homes (ILoveMountains.org). Since MTR destroys all vegetation on the mountain, mountain tops are first clear cut for timber. After the coal is extracted, the “fill,” as the destroyed mountain rubble is now called, is deposited into the valleys and streams of the surrounding landscape. Over 1,200 miles of Appalachian rivers have already been buried or polluted by MTR fill. As of 2003, Over 800 square miles of mountain forest have been destroyed (Appvoices.org).

Economically, MTR is more efficient than underground mining; fewer workers can extract more coal. Today 15,000 workers can extract more coal than 150,000 could only half-a-century ago (NMA.org). Coal production is higher than ever, meaning record profits for mining companies. From 1987 to 1997, mining jobs decreased 29% while coal extraction increased 32% (Appvoices.org). Yet, the areas that are being destroyed reap little benefit from their spoils. In McDowell County, Kentucky, where the most coal in the state is produced, 37% of the people still live below the poverty line. Counties that have coal mining are no better off economically than those where no mining occurs (Appvoices.org).

Larry Gibson behind his cabin at Hell's Gate MTR site, Kayford Mountain, WV

Environmentally, MTR is a nightmare. According to the EPA’s Mid-Atlantic Regional Assessment:
The impact of mountaintop removal on nearby communities is devastating. Dynamite blasts needed to splinter rock strata are so strong they crack the foundations and walls of houses. Mining dries up an average of 100 wells a year and contaminates water in others. In many coalfield communities, the purity and availability of drinking water are keen concerns.
Mountain blasting expels coal dust and fly rock into the air and onto surrounding private property. These sulfuric compounds are health hazards and corrosive to building and plumbing materials. The EPA’s Environmental Impact Study of 2003 found streams near MTR valley fills contained decreased biodiversity and high levels of minerals and heavy metals. In 2001 the EPA urged the Army Corps of Engineers to reconsider a MTR permit they issued arguing “the discharges present an imminent danger of irreparable harm to wildlife and recreational areas” (Commonwealth v. Rivenburgh).

5. Marsh Fork Elementary and Coal Sludge Impoundments

As mentioned above, coal mining companies “store” the toxic liquid wastes from processing and washing the coal, also called sludge or slurry, in open earthen damned impoundments near the processing plants. These plants and impoundments are dangerously close to communities. The impoundments range in size, but are generally massive- containing millions or billions of gallons of toxic sludge. They are unlined, often leaking into the ground and surface water, and are prone to failure. In 1972 an impoundment flood at Buffalo Creek, West Virginia took the lives of 125 people, 1,100 were injured and 4,000 left homeless. In 2000, an impoundment failure near Inez, Kentucky spilled over 300 million gallons of sludge down two tributaries of the Tug Fork River, polluting hundreds of miles of waterways including the Ohio River. The failure contaminated the water supply for 27,000 people, killing all aquatic life in two creeks, essentially leaving 20 miles of stream dead (Appalshop.org). Although these leaks and failures are in clear violation of the Clean Water Act, the Office of Surface Mining still permits coal companies to impound this toxic waste in such a faulty manner.
The situation of the sludge impoundment above Marsh Fork Elementary School in Sundial, West Virginia is a slowly unfolding tragedy. Less than 400 yards above the school sits a massive, leaking pool containing 2.8 billion gallons of coal sludge (Coal River Mountain Watch). 250 yards away from the school sits a coal processing plant that uses powerful chemical scrubbers to clean the coal. Only 225 feet from the school sits a coal silo where trains load out processed coal. Rail cars come as close as 150 feet to the school grounds. Furthermore, there is a 1,500 foot strip mine beginning operation above the impoundment (Sludge Safety Project)!

http://www.penniesofpromise.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/labelled_mfe.jpg

In 2005 West Virginia State Governor Manchin refused to conduct a health safety test of the school. On May 31, 2005, 16 people were arrested at Governor Manchin's office for protesting the Governor's refusal to fund the relocation of the school. In 2006, the citizens funded an independent study to test for coal dust in the school. Dr. Scott Simonton, PE, PhD and Dr. Dewey Sanderson, Professor of Geology at Marshall University, found the presence of coal dust in seven of seven dust samples taken within the school in the gymnasium, hallways, and two classrooms of the school.
"In short, dust has been and is generated at the Goals Coal facility as a result of material handling activities and this dust migrates to the school property and into the school, where it is respired. This dust has known health hazards, especially in the inhalation exposure route. I believe that the inhalation of this dust must be avoided and prevented. I believe that the occupants of Marsh Fork Elementary School are at risk from exposure to the dust emitted from the Goals Coal facility (Simonton)."

At present, Ed Wiley and some local citizens have started the Pennies of Promise campaign to raise awareness of the situation at Marsh Fork Elementary and raise money to move the school to a safer location.

6. Chester, Pennsylvania and The Waste Management Industry

Chester, Pennsylvania is a textbook example of environmental injustice: the unequal distribution of waste management facilities in an economically disadvantaged community made up predominantly of people of color. Of the 43,000 residents living in Chester, 65% are African-American. 95% of Chester’s African-American residents live in neighborhoods closest to the toxic facilities. The poverty rate in Chester lies at 25%, which is three times the national average (Ewall). In Delaware County, where Chester is situated, there is an air polluting facility every 4 miles: 11 times more air pollutant facilities in than anywhere else in Pennsylvania. The county also boasts a superfund site every six miles: more than seven times the state average (Scorecard.org). In Delaware County, there is a 33% greater cancer risk than in other Pennsylvania counties, as well as a 3 to 1 distribution of toxic chemical release to people of color vs. white and approximately a 6 to 1 ratio of air polluting facilities to people of color vs. white (Scorcard.org).

There are over 1 dozen major polluting facilities on the Delaware River in or near
Chester. Chester itself has the highest percentage of low-weight births in the state, and 60% higher mortality and lung cancer rates that are 60% higher than the rest of Delaware County. It also has the highest children’s’ blood-lead levels in the state, with 60% of the children over the safe limit (ejnet.org). Chester is home to the seventh largest waste incinerator in the nation, and Chester’s West-End residents live literally across the street from the toxic company grounds. In the past two decades there has been exposure to radioactive materials, unsanitary medical waste, air pollution, and soil pollution in Chester, with little explanation or remediation offered. In response to the corrupt and unresponsive government in place, the citizens organized themselves and continue to demand reform.

The Chester Residents Concerned for Quality Living (CRCQL or "circle") and the Swarthmore College student activist group Campus Coalition Concerning Chester (or C-4) are responsible for unifying the citizens of Chester, exposing and raising awareness of the City’s toxic incineration issues, and bringing media attention to force the issue on city government under the scrutiny of the larger public. Led by Zulene Mayfield, the residents of Chester and their allies stood up to crooked city officials and powerful legal defense corporations and demanded an end to waste treatment proliferation in their neighborhoods (Laid To Waste). Residents physically blocked trucks coming in and out of incineration facilities, marched to state legislature, demanded accountability and cleanup and have forced the government to listen and take action as a result. Chester residents set a precedent in the U.S. by suing the State on the grounds of Environmental Racism (part of the case has been declared moot, part of the case still pending). Currently, the Mayor of Chester has gotten on board, ordering a moratorium on new waste facilities in Chester, refusing to allow the country’s largest tire-to-petroleum recovery center (read: tire incinerator) to set up in the city.

7. Sheila Holt-Orsted and Environmental Racism in Dickson County, Tennessee

Sheila Holt-Orsted and her family are victims of blatant environmental racism. The Holt's had been drinking well water contaminated by the nearby county landfill for over a decade without any warning or action on behalf of the county government to ensure their safety. During the years the well was tested, it had shown levels of contamination up to 29 times the safe limits for Trichloroethylene (TCE), a known carcinogen. Yet the Holt's were never advised to stop drinking their well water, or put on municipal water.

Sheila's father, gospel singer Harry "Highway" Holt, died of prostate cancer last summer. Sheila has been fighting breast cancer since 2002 and has had a mastectomy and several surgeries as a result. Her mother and sister have also had cervical polyps. Her aunt next door, and three of her cousins have had cancer. Her other aunt across the street has had chemotherapy for a bone disease, and uncle died of Hodgkin's disease. It is hard to imagine these severe health issues are merely a coincidence. Ms. Holt-Orsted asserts that the government did not disclose the water quality information to her family because of their race (npr.org). In her research she found letters and documents indicating that Tennessee environmental and water officials had concerns about the possibility of TCE appearing in the Holt's well water as early as 1988. The Holts' well was left untested for nine years while TCE problems in the wells of white families were tended to with haste, the records showed. In 1991, an EPA official wrote, "Use of your well water should not result in any adverse health effects.”

http://www.onearth.org/article/a-communitys-health-in-black-and-white

this land is our land?

Brief Overview of Issues I'm Writing Songs to Represent: