For this section I decided to look up the nearest sewage facility near my hometown of Fontana California. Near Fontana there are 10 wastewater treatment plants and sewage disposal. 5 miles away from Fontana is the Rialto Wastewater Treatment Plant. Rialto produces 7-8 million gallons of sewage everyday. I remember growing up and passing by the Regional Water Recycling Plant No. 1, What I remember most is how awful it smelled and all the brown water I could see when we dove past the facility on the freeway. Not knowing much about what was really going on there. Watching this weeks videos on our sewage system and the amount of work that goes into cleaning out water is eye opening. This particular plant treats approximately 28 million gallons per day.
Environmental Justice as stated by the US EPA 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." When I think about all the places around the world that turn the other way when it comes to polluting the earth it breaks my heart. This feeling deepens as I learn how these incinerators, waste lands etc are developed and ran near less developed neighborhood or countries and in communities filled mostly with people of color. It seems to happen more often than not, due to lack of education, socioeconomic status, employment levels, and the physical environment. This fits into the concept of social determinants of health because those living in low income communities have less opportunity or options available to them when it comes to removing themselves from such toxic environments. It is unfortunate ...
That is terrible! I wonder if the toxic waste that flowed openly dispersed chemicals into the air? Also, was it a low-income neighborhood? If so, then that definitely would coincide with environmental racism. Were there ground water systems in your area?
ReplyDeleteit was not in a low income neighborhood, but there were some house near the facility. Yes, there are ground water systems, but not in my specific area.
DeleteCrazy that you were actually able to smell it, that definitely shows bad practice b/c that should be relatively controlled. I can' t believe there were 10 that close to you, but shows how much support and infrastructure are really needed to be fully thought through in larger cities.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I was pretty surprised at the amount of places within the area I grew up and the surrounding areas.
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