RE: [CPEO-BIF] Another Perspective On AAI's Potential Impact

[Emery Graham <egraham@ci.wilmington.de.us>]

"It is TOSC's opinion that the work conducted to date at the site is inadequate, and that additional work is needed to ensure the protection of the health of residents who live in very close proximity to the site and to provide an adequate level of cleanup prior to site redevelopment."
 
Thanks for your response to my concern. The passage quoted above is taken from the article sited in your response. 
 
This quote speaks to one of the most ignored aspects of brownfields development, i.e.,  the threats to life, health, and safety of the residents living in close proximity to the waste site. These threats include not only harm to the physical self but harm caused by mental anxiety; depression and stress. When one accepts that this hidden harm is experienced continuously and immediately by the residents of the brownfield area, one begins to grasp the fundamental flaw in continuing to postpone site clean up enforcement, i.e., the harm from brownfields occurs immediately while the benefits of brownfield development occur some time in the future and the harms fall on citizens who are different, in terms of time of impact and SES,  from the private group who are most likely to be the beneficiaries of the any brownfield development. This means that innocent citizens are bearing the costs of past private business activity, now, while the state seeks to moderate or eliminate the immediacy of legal imperatives to enforce the law requiring private site owners to remove the harm causing substances from their property. The new postponing tactic is to argue that money to develop the site can no longer be taken from the site owner and can only be generated by inducing another private party to use the site for profitable commercial development.  There is no apparent move by the brownfield initiative proponents to recognize the immediacy of the threat to the life, health, and safety of waste site residents; not even a move to allow Brownfield Assessment grant funds to be used by recipients to comply with the certifications in the assessment grant agreements, i.e., the one that says the recipient will comply with HAZWOPER and have a health and safety "program" in place in their organization that meets the mandate of 40 CFR 311 and 29 CFR 1910.120. 
 
To get a good understanding of what I'm talking about read the information on the following websites, one by the ATSDR and one by OSHA; less someone think I'm pointing to some radical reactionary references;
 
http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/brownfields/index.html
 
A quote from the next website serves to underscore my interest and the comments made above:
 
"The basis of what is known about the psychological effects of environmental contamination from hazardous substances began with the study of people's reactions to natural disasters in the 1950s. Psychologists and clinicians recognized that a small number of people exposed to various natural disasters (e.g., fires, hurricanes, and floods) could develop psychological sequelae from the stress such as major depression, chronic anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Current thought among disaster relief workers holds that most people will suffer no or only transient effects from the stress of a natural disaster (i.e., acute stress disorder or, "people reacting normally to an abnormal situation") (1) <http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/HSPH/v10n1-1.html#1#1> . 
There are important differences between psychological effects from actual or perceived exposure to chemicals and those resulting from natural disasters. Sociologists and psychologists performing field research in communities near hazardous waste sites have pointed out that unlike a natural disaster-which has a discernible low point followed by a recovery phase when life begins to return to "normal"-life near a hazardous waste site is a more nebulous and uncertain situation.  Environmental contamination has no discernible starting point, no distinct low points, may last for many years during the clean-up and remediation process, and, in case of exposure, may result in latent health effects for those people exposed to a hazardous substance (1) <http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/HSPH/v10n1-1.html#1#1> . 
The slow onset and recovery from these situations may make adjustment to them more difficult than a sudden, more tangible event such as a natural disaster. Living near a hazardous waste site can breed uncertainty about exposures and subsequent latent health effects (2) <http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/HSPH/v10n1-1.html#2#2>  and spark social and political turmoil (3, <http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/HSPH/v10n1-1.html#3#3>  4) <http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/HSPH/v10n1-1.html#4#4> , all of which serve as additional stressors. Also, exposures to neurotoxic chemicals can cause psychological changes, so it is important to rule out exposures before declaring a health problem to be solely psychologically based."
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HEC/HSPH/v10n1-1.html#Scientific%20Research
 
 
 
 
 
-----Original Message-----
From: jschwab@planning.org [mailto:jschwab@planning.org] 
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2003 10:40 AM
To: cpeo-brownfields
Subject: RE: [CPEO-BIF]
 
I don't fall into either of the two categories you wanted to hear from. Instead, I am an urban planner. However, somewhat relevant to the question you raise, and the experience of charitable nonprofits in dealing with these situations, I do recall a relatively recent case in which Goodwill Industries inherited a problem through a donation of land from a paint company, Dutch Boy, on the South Side of Chicago. Below is a link to an item concerning that investigation. There was more in the local news media--Chicago Sun-Times, Chicago Tribune, etc., about this case  at the time.
http://www.egr.msu.edu/tosc/dutchboy/dbsiteinv.shtml 
http://scholar.lib.vt.edu/VA-news/WDBJ-7/script_archives/02/0702/071202/071202.6.htm 
James C. Schwab, AICP 
Senior Research Associate 
Co-Editor, Zoning News 
American Planning Association 
122 S. Michigan Ave., Suite 1600 
Chicago IL   60603-6107 
Phone: 312-786-6364 
FAX: 312-431-9985 
E-mail: mailto:jschwab@planning.org <mailto:jschwab@planning.org> 
http://www.planning.org/ <http://www.planning.org/> 
 
-----Original Message----- 
From: CPEO Moderator [mailto:cpeo@cpeo.org] 
Sent: Monday, July 07, 2003 8:55 AM 
To: cpeo-brownfields@igc.topica.com 
Subject: RE: [CPEO-BIF] 
 
The following response was posted by Emery Graham 
<egraham@ci.wilmington.de.us> 
__________________________________________________________________ 
As I read all of the comments in response to CPEO's request for thoughts 
on the AAI issue, I wonder how "faith based" community development 
organizations are fairing in this new found opportunity to own a 
brownfield site. From my short years of working with community based 
organizations, I'm not really sure that they've come to grips with the 
implications of AAI or, being new to brownfield development, whether 
they're considering the system of laws and obligations they'd encounter 
should they decide to accept "free land" from some philanthropic 
government or private party that happens to be a contaminated site. 
I'd really like to hear from some faith based community development 
organizations or some of the proponents of "faith based" 
participation in brownfields regarding this general topic or on AAI. 
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