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Stop Dumping on the West Side! See Also: Stanislaus County residents & Greenaction Fight New Permit For Covanta Garbage Incinerator 12/16/02 Read Greenaction's Comments to the San Joaquin Valley Air District opposing Covanta's application for a Title V Clean Air Act permit for their incinerator in Crow's Landing, CA Stanislaus County residents & Greenaction Step Up Fight Against Dump Plans! Read the the Press Release, Modesto Bee Editorial and news coverage from Tuesday, 7/9 and Wednesday, 7/10! Read the Action Alert! And Read the Fact Sheet on the Covanta Incinerator in Crow's Landing, Stanislaus County! 11/17/01 Central California Environmental Justice Network Formed! Read about the founding conference and the Fresno Bee story. Youth Speak Out at Environmental Justice Network conference! Read the great Fresno Bee coverage and the read Greenaction Youth Organizer Natalia Bernal's report on the youth organizing.
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Pollution Threats to Community Health in Stanislaus County Bad Air The San Joaquin Valley is now known as the nation's capital of bad air. What's in the air? Ozone, dust, haze, soot, and other toxic emissions. Smog and toxic air pollution come from incinerators, oil refineries, farms using pesticides, cars, trucks and other sources. Air pollution sources are categorized as "mobile", like trucks, or "stationary" like the Covanta incinerator. This pollution can cause cancer, asthma and heart disease. Nitrates in the Drinking Water According to the 2001 Great Valley Indicator's Report on the San Joaquin Valley, "nitrates from chemical fertilizers, animal-feeding operations, and septic systems have caused the shutdown of more public supply wells than any other contaminant." Nitrates are particularly dangerous for babies, causing blue baby syndrome. The baby turns blue because the blood loses its ability to carry oxygen to all parts of the body and the baby may suffocate. Nitrates in drinking water may also cause cancer. Other contaminants in drinking water include solvents, pesticides, and heavy metals. Covanta Garbage Incinerator A company called Covanta operates a garbage incinerator in Crow's Landing that burns about 800 tons per day of solid waste. The incinerator emits dangerous toxic chemicals and toxic metals into the air, including dioxin, one of the most toxic chemicals known to science. Even low levels of dioxin can cause illnesses such as cancer & birth defects. The company claims that the design and technology of their incinerator system "insures complete combustion and breaks down dioxin" and is environmentally safe." The truth is that the incinerator cannot completely or safely destroy all the waste being burned, and in fact creates dioxin and emits it into the air. The incinerator tried two years ago to import medical waste from across the state to be burned here, but concerned residents stopped that toxic threat! Landfill In 2002 the Stanislaus County government had plans to expand the Fink Road landfill in Crows Landing into a mega-dump that could have resulted in garbage and sewage sludge being imported from all over California and from other states. This proposed mega-dump would increase health risks for residents of the west side due to increased truck traffic, potential leakage and contamination of groundwater. Residents came together to oppose this plan and the county decided to revoke the proposal. It was a great victory for the community! Pesticides Farm workers and their families are at a high risk of suffering health problems, including cancer, due to pesticide exposure. They become exposed working in the fields as well as from living in or near treated fields. Pesticides can drift into residential areas and can also be brought in the home in clothing and shoes. Children can be more affected by pesticides than adults because their brains and bodies are in a development phase and they eat, drink, and breathe more than adults. Babies who spend time on the ground and put toys and things in their mouths are highly vulnerable to the poisons of pesticides. In Stanislaus County, the highest number of pesticide poisoning cases came from work with the almond and grape crops (Californians for Pesticide Reform Fields of Poison 2002 Report). Westley Tire Fire For many years millions of tires were illegally dumped at a site in Westley. In 1988 there were approximately 42 millions tires on 40 acres of land. On September 22, 1999 lightning struck the tire pile and over 7 million tires caught fire. The fire burned for 34 days causing severe air, soil, and groundwater contamination. Health consequences to nearby residents included chronic headaches, coughing, wheezing, eye discomfort, sore throat, runny nose, nosebleeds, asthma, bronchitis, skin irritation, and leukemia. In the beginning of 2002 Ed Filbin, owner of the tire pile, acquired the tire-burning power plant which is on his land and wants to reopen it to resume the tire incineration business. This will emit dangerous toxic chemicals and toxic metals into the air. Health Effects of the Pollution Although we do know some of the terrible potential health impacts associated with these individual pollutants, there may be even more health effects that we don't yet know which would result from exposure to the mixture of these pollutants. There is also the cumulative buildup or effect of toxins to consider. For example, a person may be exposed to low levels of different carcinogens, but overall, the carcinogens could combine to cause serious illness. This situation leaves many to wonder not whether residents will become sick, but instead how badly they will be affected. |