On a post it note, write down one word that

comes to mind when you think about each word

above.

EnvironmentUse Yellow Post it Note

JusticeUse blue

Post it Note

Introducing Students to Environmental Justice:

A North Carolina Case Study

Dana Haine, MS UNC Superfund Research Program

July 11, 2013

“One in four Americans lives within four miles of a toxic dumpsite” – US EPA

http://www.epa.gov/enviro/cleanups/

Source: US EPA, 2011Figure shows Brownfields Properties, Hazardous Waste Sites, Superfund Sites

ENGAGEMENT

• Read the scenario provided.

The Problem

Community leaders who are upset about this situation believe that the landfill site was

intentionally selected due to its being locatedin a poor, rural, predominantly minority community. They are determined to fight this decision and prevent the landfill from

being constructed.

EXPLORATION

How might the community be both positively and negatively affected by the

siting and construction of the PCB Landfill?

Identify the key groups in this story

• Concerned Citizen Group• Media• Scientists/Public Health Experts• EPA (Federal Government)• NC Department of Natural Resources (State

Government)• Town and County officials (Local Government)

EXPLANATIONRead A North Carolina Case Study

Afton, NC (Warren County)

Hazardous Waste:How did it get there?

• Ward Transformer, Morrisville, NC, reconditioned electrical transformers from 1964 – 2006.

• 1978 - Ward sprays 30,000 tons of PCB-contaminated oil along 243 miles of NC roads in 14 counties

• 1982 - EPA moves soil to new landfill in Warren County

NPL Site: PCB Spills

Population 69% minority, over 20% low-incomeSpurred the Environmental Justice Movement

PCB Landfill Detoxification • PCB contaminated soil (82,000 tons) was treated

by indirect thermal desorption (Aug 2002-October 2003)

• 4,500 gallons of concentrated PCB oil was recovered and taken to a hazardous waste facility

http://www.tdxassociates.com/Indirect%20Fired.html

What is Environmental Justice?Think-Pair-Share

It has been documented that…

• Minorities and poor more frequently live near environmental hazards; the 2007 Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty report found people of color make up more than 56 percent of the residents living in neighborhoods within two miles of commercial hazardous waste facilities.

It has been documented that…

• Superfund site listings in minority and poor areas are discovered to a lesser extent despite legislation designed to prevent the disproportionate environmental effects of federal programs and policies on minority and low-income populations.

Source: Superfund: Evaluating the Impact of Executive Order 12898 http://ehp03.niehs.nih.gov/article/fetchArticle.action?articleURI=info%3Adoi%2F10.1289%2Fehp.9903

What is Environmental Justice?

Environmental justice is the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national

origin, or income with respect to the development, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws,

regulations, and policies.Definition from USEPA: www.epa.gov

Principles of EJ

• Adopted by the delegates at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit held in October 1991.

• “served as a defining document for the growing grassroots movement for environmental justice”

http://www.ejnet.org/ej/principles.html

The Role of Community

What strategies can community members use to address environmental injustices?

The Role of Government

What should the role of government be in preventing environmental injustice?

The Role of Youth

What is the role of youth in addressing environmental injustices?

DISCUSSION:

• How can you make this topic relevant to your students?

• What local issues (past or present) have negatively impacted a subset of the population in your community?

Ecojustice Education

• The ecological crisis is really a cultural crisis… a crisis in the way people have learned to think and thus behave in relation to larger life systems and toward each other.

• This approach acknowledges the reality of environmental injustice but sets it in a larger context that includes injustice to all life that is caused by a toxic disposal site.