Environmental Racism Research Paper

2787 Words12 Pages
Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL RACISIM Hazards in Minority Communities Charles J. Howard Columbia College [pic][pic] [pic] [pic] Contents • 2. Contents • 3-4. Executive Summary • 4-10. Body o 8-9. Conclusion o 10. Works Cited/References Executive Summary and Environmental Racism defined! Environmental racism is an important concept that provided a label for some of the environmental activism occurring in minority and low-income communities. In particular, it links racism with environmental actions, experiences, and outcomes. In the broadest sense, environmental racism and its corollary, environmental discrimination, is the process whereby environmental decisions, actions, and policies result…show more content…
The Redstone Arsenal, which is owned by the Army Corps of Engineers, leased the facility to the Olin Corporation from 1947 until it was closed in 1970. Olin, which manufactured and sold DDT to the Army and other companies for use as a pesticide, apparently had been discharging their wastewater contaminated with DDT into the Huntsville Spring Branch. During the 22 years the facility was in operation, as much as 4,000 tons of DDT escaped and accumulated in the sediment along the Huntsville Spring Branch. The Huntsville Spring Branch flows south through the mostly poor and predominately black town of Triana, whose residents rely heavily on fish taken from the local waters. After the TVA report was released, Triana mayor Clyde Foster, concerned that the local citizens might have been contaminated, requested that residents be checked for signs of DDT in their bodies. The Center for Disease Control, based in Atlanta, Georgia, was sent to test the residents. Initially, twelve inhabitants were tested for DDT in their blood. The results showed that not only was DDT present in their blood, but that the levels were three times the normal levels of DDT found in other case studies. The compared case studies were of workers at DDT plants, yet none of the residents tested in Triana had ever worked at such a facility. When it is was discovered that Olin Corporation was to blame for…show more content…
In his thinking, it did not matter that there was no scientific evidence. The fact that there is no scientific evidence linking serious health problems to DDT contamination also proves that there is so evidence to the contrary. What really sets the Triana lawsuit apart from the others, was a plan proposed by Foster. He wanted to protect the people of Triana from any negative affects of DDT in the present and in the future, so he proposed that Olin establish a healthcare program for all residents that were exposed to DDT. In addition, the lawsuit would also require Olin to compensate the plaintiffs for their loss of income. The government, specifically the Justice Department, also used the courts in order to force Olin to accept responsibility for the DDT dumping around the Redstone Arsenal. Their motive was to force Olin to clean up the DDT in the Huntsville Spring Branch at Olin's expense. Also, Olin would have to arrange and pay for medical services to the people contaminated with DDT. (The Washington Post,
Open Document