Pollution, Race Linked in SF Bay Area

A new report finds that most people living within a mile of power plants, refineries and other pollution sources in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area are ethnic minorities with higher rates of asthma and cancer, and less access to health care.

Neighborhood activists say children need to use inhalers, and told KCBS that they’re perpetually washing “black gook” and “black soot” off their windows and houses.

Sources:

“Low-income, minority areas bear brunt of Bay Area pollution”
ANG Newspapers, February 18, 2007

“Study claims environmental racism in Bay Area”
CBS5/KCBS (San Francisco), February 20, 2007

4 thoughts on “Pollution, Race Linked in SF Bay Area

  1. i just watched something on tv where something like that was happening in tobago. it was caused by the sahara winds or something.

  2. I agree that discrimination is one of the cuases of injustice, but, I think that greed knows only one color and that color is GREEN. I live in the Pinelands/Wetlands/Wildlife Refuge in what they call “THE PLACE TO LIVE” with “the best schools and the best teachers” in “Pristine Safe and Clean” Upper Township, NJ. An area protected by the Pinelands Commission, the Wetlands Commission, The National Wildlife Preservation, and our children and our entire community is/are also exposed to a dangerous and unhalthy conditions. Every day and night we are exposed to hundreds and hundreds of trucks, that expell cancer causing fumes as they speed past the children in the morning, while they wait for their buses and during the day while they ride their bikes, walk and play outside. The smoke even seeps into our homes. We are a residential communty that is drenched in sand mining and landfill, all cause air and ground pollution and all attract dangerous and unhealthy elements, and no one cares to put a stop to it. We are not minories in the color sense, but we do share one common ground with the residents of the Bay area in SF. We are considered low to mid income levels and as such we are also considered the uneducated, uninformed, unresourceful and unworthy of preservation and protection. Unworthy of a healthy and safe environment. We are considered the dumping ground. We are considered “THE ISLAND.” But wait, it gets even better, not only they continue to expand the sand mines and the landfill deeper into our community, not only they allow the hundreds and hundreds of trucks already here to use our residential roads as super speed highways, not only they allow waste haulers to use our streets illegally and leave trails of trash as they speed by, we now have the added threath of having one of the biggest Asphalt Plant “ASH FALL” Plant in New Jersey placed in the middle of our communities. A plant that more air and ground pollution and that will add 400 to 500 more trucks a day 24/7. Trucks that will add to the already house shaking, air, ground and noise pollutting fleet of trucks that already exist on our residential roads, trucks that will also use our residential roads as super speed highways.

    We have the best schools with the best teachers in “THE PLACE TO LIVE” in “PRISTINE SAFE AND CLEAN” UPPER TOWNSHIP. All we have to do is survive the environment.

  3. GO TO PICASA ALBUMS SEARCH FOR “UPPER TOWNSHIP NJ” GAETANA’S PUBLIC ALBUMS.
    YOU WILL SEE WHAT THE SECTION OF “PRISTINE SAFE AND CLEAN” UPPER TOWNSHIP, NJ CONSIDERED UNWORTHY OF QUALITY OF LIFE, OF PRESERVATION AND PROTECTION FROM INVIRONMENTAL INJUSTICE LOOKS LIKE AND SOUNDS LIKE.