Taking Action for Health and Environmental
Justice
Health
and Justice for Bayview Hunters Point (San Francisco, CA)
Greenaction
and Bayview Hunters Point community groups and residents held a
big press conference June 11th in front of the PG&E Hunters
Point power plant to announce the filing
of a complaint charging PG&E and the California Independent
System Operator agency with violating Title VI of the US Civil Rights
Act due to their refusal to shut down the polluting power
plant. Dozens of residents young and old joined the press conference
and protest to denounce PG&E and government agencies for allowing
the community to suffer health problems from pollution.
Greenaction
has taken the lead in developing
a strong united community position on the power plant situation
in San Francisco, opposing the siting of four new "peaker"
power plants unless the old power plants are closed down.
We are also
proud to announce a new campaign effort in collaboration with the
Huntersview Tenants Association: the Bayview Hunters Point Mothers
Environmental Health Project. We will be working with the Tenants
Association (located near the PG&E plant) to train mothers interested
in learning about environmental health and in taking action to educate
and mobilize their community. We will work with residents to identify
the worst toxic sites in the community and then to develop and implement
campaigns to remedy the problems.
Supporting
the Precautionary Principle - Better Safe Than Sorry Campaign!
Greenaction
has joined with a coalition of community, health and environmental
groups in the San Francisco Bay Area to promote the Precautionary
Principle to develop laws to protect health and the environment.
This Principle shifts the burden of proof: rather than asking "How
much harm is allowable?" it forces us to consider "How
little harm is possible?" This principle is key to preventing
the skyrocketing health problems in our society from pollution.
We helped the successful effort that resulted in the San Francisco
Board of Supervisors adopting
the Principle into their Environment Code, and are now working
to incorporate this into a County Purchasing Ordinance and a Green
Building Ordinance.
San
Joaquin Valley Environmental Justice Project (California)
The predominantly
Latino and low-income communities in the valley are hard hit by
pollution including pesticides, waste dumps, and an incinerator,
contaminated wells and polluting power plants. We are working with
the Grayson Neighborhood Council and the Central California Environmental
Justice Network to stop existing
and proposed toxic threats and to educate and empower residents
to protect their health and environment.
We are continuing
our Youth Environmental Justice Leadership Project in the area,
working to educate and involve youth on environmental justice issues.
We are beginning a Women's Environmental Justice Leadership Project
in the San Joaquin Valley, empowering low-income and Spanish-speaking
women in communities hit hard by pollution.
Gila
River Indian Community (Arizona)
Last November,
the grassroots tribal member group Gila River Alliance for a Clean
Environment and Greenaction won a big victory that closed
the medical waste incineration operation run by Stericycle on tribal
lands. Now we are working with tribal members to challenge
another hazardous waste facility on the reservation, Romic Environmental
Technologies Corporation. Violating their environmental justice
and trust responsibility mandates, the US EPA has allowed this toxic
waste plant to operate without a full permit for 23 years! Now that
Greenaction and tribal members have started investigating this,
Romic has applied for a permit. EPA failed to notify tribal members
about this, but Greenaction discovered this permit application and
alerted the community. On July 12 Greenaction helped organize a
day long workshop for tribal members on this issue. The campaign
has now begun!
We are also
assisting family members whose land on the reservation was contaminated
by non-Indian farmers who dumped DDT and toxaphene. Greenaction
and tribal members forced US EPA to agree to conduct a new cleanup
after we proved the "cleanup" done by EPA two decades
ago was inadequate. Tribal members suffer severe health problems
from the contamination.
Santa
Cruz Incinerator Proposal (California)
Greenaction
is organizing community opposition to a proposal promoted by the
Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors to study the building of
a giant waste to energy garbage incinerator. Industry giant American
Ref-Fuel initiated the proposal, but their public relations material
presented to the Board of Supervisors omitted one key fact: their
incinerators emit a broad range of highly toxic chemicals and toxic
metals.
Health
Care Without Harm
We are part
of the international Health
Care Without Harm coalition working to transform the health
care industry to reduce use of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastics
and mercury-containing devices, and to end incineration of medical
waste. We work with health care institutions, community and health
groups, workers in hospitals, and government agencies in this effort.
We are working to promote regulations for autoclave facilities to
better protect worker health and the environment. Now that Arizona's
only commercial medical waste incinerator was closed due to a victory
by Greenaction and the community, companies are establishing non-incineration
treatment facilities. In California we are working with coalition
allies to watchdog new technologies being proposed for medical waste
treatment to ensure that only safer, non-incineration technologies
are used.
Campaign
to Shut the Stericycle Medical Waste Incinerator (Utah)
In the wake
of Greenaction/community victories against polluting incinerators
in East Oakland, California
and the Gila River Indian Community
in Arizona, we have now launched a campaign with Salt Lake
City, Utah residents to close a commercial medical waste incinerator
run by Stericycle. Our activists have now begun door to door outreach
in North Salt Lake City in the neighborhoods near the incinerator
to alert residents to this unknown toxic threat. Greenaction and
community activists toured the Utah incinerator, and black smoke
was being emitted from an emergency smokestack while we were there.
The incinerator also burns non-medical waste. We are demanding Stericycle
replace the incinerator with safer non-incineration treatment technologies
that will protect health, the environment and workers' jobs.
Colorado
River Indian Tribes Environmental Health and Justice Project (Arizona)
Greenaction
is working at the invitation of tribal members concerned about the
ongoing operations of a commercial
hazardous waste facility on tribal lands, next to a sacred
religious site. Westates Carbon/U.S. Filter operates the plant that
treats hazardous wastes shipped to the reservation from across the
U.S., including waste from EPA Superfund sites and from federal
agencies. Contrary to company claims that the emissions are "essentially
steam," Westates emits dioxin and many toxic chemicals and
metals into the air. Tribal members and Greenaction are challenging
the U.S. EPA to stop its complicity in polluting tribal lands and
desecrating the sacred site next to the factory.
White
Mesa Uranium Mill/radioactive waste dump (Utah)
Greenaction
is assisting Ute, Navajo and non-Native communities living near
the International Uranium Corporation's White Mesa Uranium Mill
in southern Utah. Located near the White Mesa Ute reservation and
Blanding, Utah, the mill has turned into a de facto radioactive
waste dump. Our diverse
alliance is seeking to shut this facility as it threatens health
and the environment - and desecrates Native sacred, cultural, archeological
and burial sites. Tribal members, Greenaction and allies
received great statewide press coverage following our testimony
at the State Radiation Control Board in May.
Moab
Utah/Colorado River Radioactive Contamination (Utah)
Greenaction
is working with residents of San Juan and Grand County to advocate
for the removal of radioactive
uranium tailings and toxic waste from the old Atlas Uranium
Mill site on the banks of the Colorado River in Moab. We will research
and advocate for the best alternative, while opposing reckless schemes
such as the one proposed by International Uranium Corporation to
build a slurry line to send the waste to their White Mesa mill.
Vinyl
Chloride Contamination Site, West Oakland, California
Greenaction
and the Chester Street Block Club Association will continue to watchdog
the U.S. EPA's recommendation to place the vinyl chloride contamination
site (near 3rd and Mandela streets) on the federal Superfund list.
Old chemical plants that had operated in the neighborhood left the
contamination. We are demanding the best possible cleanup, with
full community control over decisions about what type of clean-up
technology is used. Three years ago EPA used an incinerator to burn
the vinyl chloride and EPA lied about its emissions -falsely claiming
that only salt and steam was being emitted. Greenaction proved that
vinyl chloride and dioxin was emitted, and we forced the closure
of the incinerator. Now the cleanup must be done safely and promptly.
Stop
Cancer Where It Starts!
Greenaction is part of
the Toxic Links Coalition
sponsoring the October 1st
Stop Cancer Where It Starts annual event in San Francisco
to expose polluter-sponsored Breast Cancer Awareness Month. On October
1st cancer survivors will speak out about the pollution from corporations
including PG&E and Chevron, and expose how certain companies
including PR firms and cancer treatment companies profit from cancer
and refuse to talk about preventing cancer.
San
Rafael Rock Quarry (California)
Greenaction
continues to support residents tired of the dust
and toxic diesel emissions from the San Rafael Rock Quarry
owned by Dutra Materials.
Environmental
Justice Air Quality Coalition (California)
Greenaction
is a founding member of the Environmental Justice Air Quality Coalition
(EJAQC) that was formed in response to the pro-polluter and anti-environmental
justice practices of the Bay Area Air Quality Management District.
We are working to change the agency's policies and practice and
hold them accountable to protect air quality and promote environmental
justice. Greenaction is coordinating an EJAQC-sponsored Toxic Tour
for officials from the Bay Area Air Quality Management to take place
September 18th: Greenaction and community groups will take the agency
officials on a tour of toxic sites and communities in San Francisco
and Oakland, documenting how health and the environment suffer due
to the Air District's pro-polluter policies and practices.
Greenaction
Web Site (www.greenaction.org)
Our
website is being used by thousands of people across the country
and the world. Community and environmental activists, students,
educators, government officials, media and even polluters regularly
visit the Greenaction website for updates, solid information and
action alerts on campaigns for health and environmental justice.
