As the scope of the damage became clear, the cost of the cleanup climbed into the hundreds of millions of dollars. The massive lead cleanup that’s now underway is the largest such effort in California history. Contact East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice on Messenger. Further pushing from Lopez, other activists and some legislators eventually resulted in the Lead-Acid Battery Recycling Act of 2016, which is projected to produce an additional $30 million to $50 million a year for cleanup efforts via a car battery fee. Do you know how poor air quality can impact your health? In fact, the story really begins more than a century ago.
A decade ago, the thought of heavy-duty zero-emission equipment was only a dream, but today it is a reality. Jerry Brown, who took office in 2011, had previously signed legislation meant to increase the DTSC’s enforcement power. But the closing of the plant in 2015 was only the beginning of the work.
Residents were relocated. In 2015, the violations were extensively detailed by the Los Angeles Times using information acquired by a public records request. In person, Lopez is unpretentious and unhurried. “He understands when it’s important to push elected officials and when it’s important to partner and help elected officials with their end goals. This year, L.A. and Long Beach once again ranked as the nation’s most ozone-polluted metro area by the annual State of the Air report put out by the American Lung Association. (It was in college that he began spelling his first name with a lowercase “m,” he says, “because I’m anti-capitalist.” And why the exclamation point? No Displacement. Soil tests around the Exide plant showed levels of lead more than 50 times the level required to be considered hazardous waste. In 2017, the EYCEJ worked closely with NRDC and local organizations to encourage L.A. and Long Beach mayors to sign a declaration setting ambitious goals to reduce air pollution at the ports by adopting clean technology. The vegetable garden was part of another initiative by the group, which has teamed up with residents to address the scarcity of healthy, fresh foods at local stores by cultivating plots throughout the neighborhood. Support our community, support ratepayers! Officials say the damage extends up to 1.7 miles away from the plant, affecting up to 10,000 homes (although Lopez says East Yard has tested homes farther out that are still contaminated). While exploring the area, they also had to share the roads with a steady stream of trucks, which Andasan pointed out were “not running on zero-emission technology.”. It’s about people building power and trying to address the issues they see in their own communities.
248 check-ins. 245 check-ins. By the 1990s, the plant had been cited numerous times for environmental violations. Across this and other projects in Oakland and Stockton, ZANZEFF will deploy 38 electric yard trucks, 9 electric gantry cranes, 18 electric heavy lift forklifts, and 15 zero-emission Class 8 trucks. The place is cluttered with office paraphernalia and filled with bilingual chatter. From the riverbank, Andasan pointed out the toxic facilities that form the backdrop of the region. All told, the state believes lead from the Exide plant contaminated six southeast L.A. communities around Vernon, including Commerce. It was there that Lopez was able to help push the state to expand its testing area from 209 homes to 10,000. The Exide Technologies plant in Vernon, Calif., was shuttered in 2015 after years of environmental violations. EYCEJ is committed to doing this work through direct democratic decision-making, and is dedicated to taking collective action for safe and healthy communities were residents live, work, learn and play.
This main artery in the goods movement industry, traversed by more than 40,000 diesel trucks per day, has also long been lined by residential neighborhoods and busy business districts. The city of Commerce, Calif., lies in one of the most industrialized pockets of the country. For Lopez, the root of the disparity was obvious: Porter Ranch was rich and white; the communities around the Exide plant were mostly low-income and Latino. It wasn’t until 2013, when the company’s elevated arsenic emissions gained public attention, that the state began fining Exide heavily for its infractions and tried to shut the plant down, which Exide successfully fought in court. East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) is an environmental health and justice organization working towards a safe and healthy environment for communities that are disproportionately suffering the negative effects…, Copyright © 2020 Idealist / Action Without Borders. These are the shipping hubs that bring our TVs, iPhones, and sneakers to our doorsteps.
Residents who live near the country’s busiest ports are getting a new lens on the pollution in their backyards, and new tactics to help fight it. Twitter; Facebook; instagram; Youtube; Main menu. East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice (EYCEJ) is an environmental health and justice organization working towards a safe and healthy environment for communities that are disproportionately suffering the negative effects of industrial pollution. Get directions, maps, and traffic for East Long Beach, CA.
2317 S Atlantic Blvd (909.12 mi) Commerce, California 90040. Communities belonging to the industrial sector include all cities along the 710 freeway from Long Beach north to Los Angeles. “It will improve nothing except my individual conditions in the moment. Our Priorities . They also generate an enormous amount of air pollution, with most ships, trucks, and trains going to and from the harbor fueled by diesel. Greenpeace partnered with East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice and Communities for a Better Environment to highlight the negative impacts that refineries, oil drilling and storage, and freight transport have on the low-income communities of color that surround it the Port of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Overcoming an Industrial Legacy in L.A.’s Pacoima District, Four Environmental Justice Champions You Should Know, An Environmental Justice Advocate’s L.A. Story, Air Pollution: Everything You Need to Know, She Breathes In Pollution, and Fights It, in the Windy City, California Makes a Clean Break—from Carbon Pollution, This Tiny North Carolina Town Is Sick of Being a Dumping Ground for Pollution. “[Lopez] strikes me as one of the people who was really responsible for making sure the community’s concerns were known,” says Sivasubramanian, who has worked consistently with Lopez on a number of issues over the last four years. Lopez arrived late that morning; there’d been a confusing new drop-off policy at his daughter’s school. Just outside, on a Monday morning in early December, a lumbering diesel truck idled. Community See All. East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice, Commerce, CA. Sign up today to save your favorite organizations and get email alerts when new ones are posted. Those violations continued after the plant was acquired in 2000 by a Georgia-based company called Exide Technologies. His grandmother was involved in efforts to shut the plant down as early as the 1990s. He walked in to East Yard wheeling his bike and wearing a helmet. EYCEJ works towards ensuring a safe and healthy environment for communities that are disproportionately suffering the negative impacts of industrial pollution in East Los Angeles, Southeast Los Angeles and Long Beach. This website uses cookies in order to offer you the most relevant information. The lead-acid battery recycling plant in Vernon, Calif., just west of Commerce, opened in 1922, one of just two such plants west of the Rockies. Agenda for a Just …
Local environmental justice groups get a boost from the city’s Clean Up Green Up policy, which brings green zoning to three heavily polluted communities. The state knows a thing or two about creating a climate policy that’ll keep battling carbon pollution—even if the feds cut and run.
The largely African-American community of Dobbins Heights hopes to protect its health—and its trees—from the biomass industry.
Get Directions (323) 263-2113. Raquel Lopez doesn’t own a bike. How smog, soot, greenhouse gases, and other top air pollutants are affecting the planet—and your health. Lopez joined East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice in 2009, shortly after graduating from the University of California, Santa Cruz.
Where Government is Going – One Headline at a Time Delivered to your inbox everyday. “The governor is known internationally when it comes to conversations around climate change,” Lopez says. At the back of the room, there’s a large sign with a drawing of a diesel truck crossed out. About See All.
East Yard started protesting Brown at public events, but the group was having difficulty attracting attention to its cause. Beyond the industrial facilities they were biking alongside, they also had to share the roads with a steady stream of trucks, none of which are running on zero-emissions technology, Andasan pointed out. Order Online Tickets Tickets See Availability Directions {{::location.tagLine.value.text}} Sponsored Topics.
Several rail yards, owned by Union Pacific and BNSF, two of the largest freight railroad networks in North America, sit close to homes, parks and businesses. For one of these projects, the Port of Long Beach received a $50 million award in 2018 and project partners will match with another $52.9 million. Lopez found it hypocritical that Brown, a globally recognized leader in environmental protection, hadn’t taken more action in his own home state. They are a responsible party [for the contamination],” says Lopez. In Commerce, lobbying efforts from East Yard pushed the city to pass a “Green Zones” policy to set up “protective zones” around homes, schools, playgrounds and other sensitive areas now suffering from pollution coming off the rail yards. It’s personal. East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice Executive Director mark! “We really view the state as a culprit in this issue. He was also regularly in contact with legislators in Sacramento, testifying about the effects of lead contamination and the community’s biggest concerns heading into cleanup. The group made another stop at the Intermodal Container Transfer Facility railyard—part of the network of freight infrastructure that hauls the goods flowing in and out of the ports. The office was busy preparing for the organization’s annual year-end brunch, meant to fundraise and celebrate the year’s accomplishments.
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(Reached by email, the California Department of Toxic Substances Control outlined for Governing the actions it has taken to test for and clean up lead contamination since 2013. During the ride, a researcher from University of Southern California Environmental Health Centers measured particulate matter in the air, with the cyclists watching a monitor to see where in their neighborhood air pollution numbers spiked. For years, the group has been pushing to make the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach zero-emissions facilities; last June, the mayors of those two cities signed a pact to slash emissions by 80 percent by 2050. “It’s very rare for 50 people to ride bikes together where we live, especially people of color,” says EYCEJ community organizer and tour leader Jan Victor Andasan. The leak released harmful methane and ethane into the air, and it inspired a frenzy of action from the state. 4,688 people follow this . Schools were temporarily shut down. Why not move? And this fight is not about the moment.”. 4,4 K J’aime. Together the ports form the largest single source of air pollution in Southern California and produce 100 tons of smog a day, according to a recent investigation. Andasan, who grew up in West Long Beach and has asthma, felt some lung tightness during some parts of the ride. Future of Security: From disinformation to deep fakes: protecting critical infrastructure and personal data in a rapidly changing threat environment. Legal. Building Healthy Communities serves to connect all partners and organizations in the Central and West Long Beach community.
It’s hard, sharp, and potentially a public health concern.