So, I have been pretty lazy on the posts. I have been waiting for a great Environmental Justice story to fall in my lap, however, since Environmental Justice issues are not really considered sensational, massively appealing stories-I waited for a long time. :)
However, I did find an interesting article published recently that can be accessed here
For those that don't know, the FEMA trailers and mobile homes were found to have hazardous levels of toxic formaldehyde. Approximately, the levels were 5x the amount of what people are exposed too in normal homes. This was all found out last year. There is still debate on whether the makers of the trailers were aware that the formaldehyde levels were so high.
However, the report that was released monday from the New York Childrens Health Fund is the first in depth review of the childrens' mental and physical health in regards to the children who live(d) in the temporary housing units. The results are alarming. One of the most alarming ones that I found was that 41% of children younger than 4 were diagnosed with iron-deficiency anemia. This is more than twice the amount of children in New York homeless shelters.
I think that this qualifies as an Environmental Justice Issue because clearly people of lower-incomes and color had their rights disregarded when subjected to government items that were poisoned. Although this trailer park was eventually abandoned and the tenants were placed in other housing situations; it's important to think about why it took so long for FEMA to get together to handle this situation. A quote happens in the article saying "who knows what's happening to the kids that we aren't seeing." and I think thats true. These people who 3 years ago had their homes destroyed, should at least be assured the basic rights of having a safe and toxic free place to live.
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