My Zip Code: 91739 & My Community: San Bernardino County
- Who and what are the top polluters in your zip code? The top 5 polluters in my county are Cemex California Cement, U.S. Marine Corps Natural Resources & Environmental Affairs, Txi Riverside Cement Oror Grand Plant, U.S. Army for Irwin, and Northwest Pipe Co.
- What percent of the homes in your zipcode have lead-based paint? 1% of houses in San Bernardino County have high risk of lead hazards.
- Are there Superfund sites in your zip? A Superfund site is any land in the U.S. that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the EPA as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment. There are 5 Superfund sites in my county.
- What can you tell us about the Superfund sites that are near where you live? What did you learn about the air quality in your zipcode? The Superfund sites are all military bases or stations that pollute my environment the most. They are in secluded and marked off areas where not a lot of people can access. In 2003, the county was ranked one of the dirtiest/worst 10% of all countries when it comes to air quality index.
- How about the water quality? The water quality is one of the cleanest and best counties which is great to hear that we are maintaining safe and drinkable water.
- How did your zipcode fair on a social justice / environmental justice basis? In terms of the races that add to the most pollution in my county are whites. Low income families and families below poverty also add to majority of the pollution. A majority of working class people add to the pollution as well.
Hi Snay,
ReplyDeleteI was surprised to learn that Claudia lives near 3 Superfund Sites, but 6 is horrifying! It's interesting to read that most of the Superfund sites exist as a result of government programs, such as a military base. You would think that for this reason, they would be more aware and for the appropriate cleanup of these spaces. I'm also surprised to hear that the water quality is highly rated as healthy, considering that there are so many Superfund sites that I would have though to contaminate the natural resources in the area.
Hi Snay,
ReplyDeleteIt found your post interesting to compare with my results because there are so many similarities. I'm trying to find more current data for my zip code, because of the information i found was 10+ years old. I agree with Nalleli it was really interesting to read that most of the Superfund sites exist because of military operations.