Highlighted Project
Polluters Roundup
Applicant: Environmental Community Organization (ECO)
Director: Marti Sinclair
ECO ran the Polluter's Roundup project from January through December 2007. Marti Sinclair, along with ECO staff and volunteers, gathered information on pollution violations from state and federal enforcement documents, the Hamilton County Department of Environmental Services, Ohio EPA, and US EPA. They then compiled and mapped demographic information for the residences within a one-mile radius of each noncompliant facility.
The final 36-page report, released in October 2007, is entitled Clean Air Act Compliance and Environmental Justice in Cincinnati. The study found a noncompliance rate by major facilities of 76% in the City of Cincinnati, compared to 55% in Hamilton County and 45% statewide, indicating that toxic emissions are a greater concern in urban areas. More specifically, the report says that there is a pervasive pattern of reduced CAA [Clean Air Act] compliance for facilities within a fenceline neighborhood (1-mile radius) with an elevated minority or poverty level. Thus, an even heavier burden is placed upon already disadvantaged residents.
Furthermore, the study posits that this noncompliance affects all of Hamilton County, and may account for its high rates of asthma, bronchitis, heart disease, cancer, and cerebrovascular disease. All of these conditions can result from soot and smog in the air. The report also says that smog poses a potent health risk to tens of thousands of children in Hamilton County, enough to fill every seat in the Cincinnati public schools.
ECO is now in the process of presenting this information to community groups, so that they can take action against pollution in their neighborhoods. Enhancing citizens' Right-to-Know is key because, as Ms. Sinclair says, many communities remain largely unaware that many facilities in their midst are operating outside the law. ECO assists community groups in taking action against these violations through the City's Title X act. In addition, City Council Vice Mayor David Crowley is in the process of working with local leaders and experts to formulate an Environmental Justice ordinance for the City.
The full report is available on ECO's website at http://www.env-comm.org/cms/images/Documents/compliancereport.pdf.