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Backyard Monthly

Backyard Monthly – July 2023

July 2023
CHEJ's "All In" - Spotlight of the Month

CHEJ’s Science Director, Stephen Lester, presented “Truth and Consequences” at the Midwest Environmental Health Summit on June 3, 2023, hosted by Citizens for a Clean Wausau.

See the video here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hMlDbkuD8bE

Stephen later toured Wausau’s Thomas Street neighborhood and Riverside Park, after an updated risk assessment released by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, outlined a serious concern for children and adults who use the space.

CHEJ's Stephen Lester tours a west-side neighborhood where contamination has been reported. Photo credit: Collin Massad

Read the Wasaus Pilot and Review’s coverage of Stephen’s visit.

You don't want to miss out on Art Works, by Ken Grossinger!

An inside look at the organizers and artists on the front lines of political mobilization and social change. Learn more and preorder a copy today!

Toxic Tuesday

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) are a family of hundreds of chemicals that come from crude oil. When crude oil is spilled during extraction or processing into petroleum products, TPHs can contaminate the environment. Becau[Read more]

Glyphosate is a chemical found in weed killer products such as RoundUpTM used on farms and home lawns. It gets absorbed by plant leaves, stopping plant growth within hours. Because of its effectiveness, glyphosate is found… [Read more]

Training Calls

The goal of this Training Call was to introduce grassroots organizers to the tools and language used amongst UX professionals so that they could improve their online presence, recruitment, and connecting with their base[Watch now]

Backyard Talk Blogs

By Hunter Marion. In 2021, California passed a law restricting the use of the classic recycling symbol upon products that are not truly recyclable. Last May, this law, and substantial complaints over the years, triggered an official comment by[Read more]

By Stephen Lester. In a major win for grassroots community groups throughout the country, the USEPA decided last week to withdraw its plan to relax clean air regulations applying to pyrolysis and gasification facilitie[Read more]

By Sharon Franklin. Tim Carpenter, reporter for the Kansas Reflector, recently reported a massive oil spill that is distorting a Kansas couple’s confidence in the integrity of the Keystone pipeline. The rupture of TC Energy’s 36-inch steel pipe has released [Read more]

By Leila Waid. It may come as a surprise that one of the biggest challenges facing environmental and public health is our judicial system – specifically the current U.S. Supreme Court. Out of the total nine Justices, six[Read more]

Do you find this information useful? Please consider pitching in and making a contribution to CHEJ. We appreciate your support!

As we gear up to celebrate the 4th of July, a day that symbolizes freedom and independence, we invite you to reflect on the true essence of liberty and responsibility. 

At CHEJ, we are committed to environmental justice, a cause that lies at the intersection of social equity, human rights, and ecological balance. We believe that every individual, regardless of their background, deserves clean air, safe water, and a healthy environment in which to thrive. Unfortunately, many communities, especially those marginalized and economically disadvantaged, are disproportionately burdened with environmental pollution and the devastating impacts of climate change.

This Independence Day, we invite you to embrace the spirit of freedom and extend your support to our mission of achieving environmental justice for all. Your generous donation will enable us to:

  • Empower Communities to become advocates for their environmental rights. 
  • Create a network of informed citizens who can engage in meaningful dialogue with policymakers and promote sustainable practices.
  • Participate in policy discussions working towards the implementation of just and equitable environmental regulations. 
  • Raise awareness among lawmakers and shape legislation that protects our environment and safeguards the rights of vulnerable communities.
  • Develop educational programs that empower young minds to become future environmental justice stewards. 

Your donation, no matter the size, will make a significant impact and contribute to a more just and sustainable world. 

Consider making a contribution today!

This Independence Day, let us come together to honor the spirit of freedom and independence by choosing to create a future where every person can breathe clean air, drink safe water, leading to happier and healthier communities.

We wish you a joyful 4th of July!

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Toxic Tuesdays

Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs)

Toxic Tuesdays

CHEJ highlights several toxic chemicals and the communities fighting to keep their citizens safe from harm.

Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPHs)

Total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH) are a family of hundreds of chemicals that come from crude oil. When crude oil is spilled during extraction or processing into petroleum products, TPHs can contaminate the environment. Because TPHs contain so many chemicals, it can be impractical or impossible to measure each individual chemical. Instead, total concentrations of TPHs are measured at contamination sites. Upon contaminating soil, some TPH components will remain there for a long time without breaking down. Upon contaminating water, some components will form films on the surface while others will sink to the bottom. Touching contaminated soil or drinking contaminated water can lead to exposure to TPHs. Because many products and gasolines are derived from crude oil, almost everyone has some exposure to TPHs even in the absence of a chemical spill. For instance, breathing the air at gas stations or using certain pesticides can cause exposure to TPHs.

Exposure to TPHs can have effects on the nervous system, causing headaches, dizziness, or numbness in the extremities. Some TPH chemicals can also affect the blood, immune system, respiratory system, and skin. In laboratory studies on animals, TPH exposure was also found to affect liver function, kidney function, and fetal development. Furthermore, at least one TPH chemical – benzene – is known to cause cancer in humans. Despite known health effects of exposure to TPHs, and the potential for synergistic effects of simultaneous exposure to multiple TPH chemicals, there are no federal regulations specific to TPHs.

CHEJ has previously written about the health effects of some chemicals commonly found in TPH and communities that have been exposed to them: benzene, naphthalene, toluene, and xylene.

Learn about more toxics

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Backyard Talk Homepage

SCOTUS Continues Attacking Environmental Health

Photo credit: Getty Images, iStock.com

By Leila Waid.

It may come as a surprise that one of the biggest challenges facing environmental and public health is our judicial system – specifically the current U.S. Supreme Court. Out of the total nine Justices, six are conservative-leaning, and three are progressive-leaning. The Trump administration picked three of the current six conservative Justices – the same administration that posed several difficulties for environmental protection. The Trump-administration-packed Supreme Court, which saw the appointments of conservatives Gorsuch, Kavanaugh, and Coney-Barret, has repeatedly deteriorated environmental protections for all Americans.

The Supreme Court Justices have a chokehold on environmental health issues and have consistently voted to strip Americans of the right to a healthy environment. The most recent example of such an environmental health ruling is the Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency ruling,which limits EPA’s ability to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act. This ruling will pose issues to the health and safety of the water because, unlike the Supreme Court’s logic that wetlands are separate from the rest of the U.S. water bodies, the truth is that all water is connected. Pollution in the wetlands will undoubtedly leak into our main drinking water supplies.

Another recent Supreme Court ruling that adversely affected environmental health and justice was the 2022 case West Virginia v. EPA. In this 6-3 ruling, all the conservative judges decided that the EPA should not be able to regulate carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions because they cannot restrict how much CO2 powerplants release. Carbon dioxide is one of the primary greenhouse gas emissions that has caused climate change.

One of the main issues with this current Supreme Court is that many of the Justices have an originalist interpretation of the law, and this belief often leads them to vote in ways that significantly limit the federal government’s power. Originalists believe the law can only “be interpreted as it was understood at the time of its adoption.” As one can imagine, this philosophy is wrong, considering the Constitution was written when only wealthy white males had any sort of power in the U.S. Is that the world these so-called originalist Justices want to live in? And if not, then why won’t they vote in such a way that reflects today’s values?

Originalism, at its core, is a flawed methodology. As Berkley Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky stated, “the world we live in is so vastly different from 1787, when the Constitution was written, or 1791, when the Bill of Rights was adopted, or 1868, when the Fourteenth Amendment was ratified.”

For example, they do not want the federal government to regulate air and water pollution because they feel it will infringe on the state’s rights. But this argument is dangerous and flawed. Air and water don’t stop at states’ borders. And in the case of the carbon dioxide ruling, the effect this will have on climate change will not stop at the national border. The countries most impacted by a warming planet will be Low- and Middle-Income Countries.

How can we fight against such a dangerous group of individuals who have forsaken all reason and fairness in the face of environmental justice? One solution is to expand the court and enforce term limits. Experts argue that this approach will help make the judicial branch more democratic.

I will leave you with this quote from Elie Mystal, from his book Allow Me to Retort, about the dangers of the ultra-conservative Supreme Court: “Never accept the conservative interpretation of the Constitution. Never accept the conservative limitations placed on our political, civil, and social rights. They have literally always been wrong, and they are wrong now. Justice is not one constitutional option among many—it is a requirement of a free and equal society. Demand nothing less.”

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Backyard Talk Homepage

Did You Know a 36-inch Pipeline Rupture Can Release 13,000 Barrels of Heavy Crude Oil?

Photo credit: Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector

By Sharon Franklin.

Tim Carpenter, reporter for the Kansas Reflector, recently reported a massive oil spill that is distorting a Kansas couple’s confidence in the integrity of the Keystone pipeline. The rupture of TC Energy’s 36-inch steel pipe has released 13,000 barrels of heavy crude in Washington, Kansas.

Chris and Bill Pannbacker, beef and crop producers who grew up in a farmhouse less than 1-mile from the pipeline break, found a major break in the TC Energy Keystone pipeline that poured crude oil “black-as-night” on their livestock’s grazing land and into the Mill Creek. The Federal regulators told them the accident was because of problems with design construction and operation of the pipeline. Meanwhile, TC Energy blamed a faulty weld in a bend that cracked under stress.

How Did This Happen? On December 7, there was an alarming pressure drop in the Keystone’s pipeline, and equipment showed the rupture; however, before the Keystone pipeline could be shut down as much as 500,000 gallons of crude oil were discharged. It has affected vegetation and infected the modest creek. Under the oversight of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, TC Energy reopened the pipeline in three weeks, with restoration plans to proceed.

Unfortunately for the Pannbackers, they were involuntarily drawn into this environmental nightmare, more than 6 months ago, and are still being affected by the relatively quick repairs.  During the clean-up, they have had an unobstructed view of work being done to remediate the area by a fleet of heavy equipment (excavators, bulldozers, trucks) tasked with the removal of oil-saturated soil for disposal. According to EPA, the $480 million project to remove oil and chemical pollution and to remediate the area continues.

The Pannbackers are planning to eventually move back to their family farm but are uneasy about the potential of another break in the pipeline, as Bill Pannbacker verbalized “You’re damn right! If that line blows on top of that hill, it’s going to shoot oil all over. It’s going to cover that valley.  I don’t have the confidence in the line that I did before.” Bill Pannbacker added, “I am impressed with the cleanup effort and the intensity of the cleanup effort,” However, it hasn’t quashed his apprehension and as he knows the clock is ticking toward a repeat of the pipeline catastrophe.

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Backyard Talk Homepage

Pyrolysis & Gasification Exemption: A BIG Win for Local Communities

Image credit: book cover for “Evolution of a Movement” by Tracy E. Perkins.

By Stephen Lester.

In a major win for grassroots community groups throughout the country, the USEPA decided last week to withdraw its plan to relax clean air regulations applying to pyrolysis and gasification facilities. After receiving 170 comments mostly opposing the agency’s plan to relax its regulations, the EPA said that it needed more time to consider the many complex and significant comments it received. And while it’s being reviewed, the current Clean Air Act rules that apply to pyrolysis and gasification facilities will stay in place.

This mean that these processes will continue to be regulated on equal footing to incinerators, as they have been for nearly 30 years. Pyrolysis and gasification facilities are currently regulated under the Clean Air Act, and are required to meet strict emissions standards that include emissions monitoring and reporting requirements.

The EPA proposed changing the rules that applied to pyrolysis and gasification facilities during the Trump Administration following heavy lobbying from the plastics industry and the American Chemistry Council. The plastics industry has been pushing hard to get the agency to redefine what qualifies as an incinerator and to exclude pyrolysis and gasification facilities from this definition. Currently, these facilities are considered under the same rules that apply to incinerators. Had this change in policy been approved, there would be no air pollution rules or regulations that pyrolysis and gasification facilities would have to follow.

Over the past year or so, the American Chemistry Council has invested billions of dollars into projects that use pyrolysis and gasification to burn waste plastics. This investment is in lock step with the plastic industry that is looking for ways to address the growing quantities of plastic waste that is generated each year. In a report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the annual production of plastic is expected to triple by 2060 to 1.23 billion metric tons yearly, while only a small portion (~9 percent) will actually be recycled.

The American Chemistry Council has also been working at the state level to pass legislation that redefines processes such as pyrolysis and gasification as non-waste. This is so that these facilities could be regulated as “recycling” facilities that manufacture a product, an energy, or a fuel than can be burned. In this way, these facilities do not have to meet the stringent air and water quality requirements that an incinerator has to meet. According to Inside Climate News, 24 states have currently passed laws that recognize these facilities as being manufacturing rather than waste management.

While this is a big win for the many grassroots groups, and statewide and national environmental groups that sent comments to EPA opposing this rule change, the plastics industry and its partners will not let this go easily. No doubt they will continue to push EPA to make this change. They have already invested too much in this effort. We need to continue to be vigilant in opposing efforts to relax the rules that apply to pyrolysis and gasification facilities. Congratulations to all who contributed to this effort!

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Backyard Monthly

Backyard Monthly – June 2023

June 2023
CHEJ's "All In" - Spotlight of the Month

This month, we want to highlight one of the cornerstones of our organization’s approach: our Training Calls. These calls not only equip grassroots organizers with vital knowledge and skills but also serve as invaluable platforms for connecting organizers across different regions.

 

By fostering a sense of collective power and learning from diverse experiences, we are able to create a stronger and more unified environmental justice movement nationwide. More specifically, this past month we hosted a call on East Palestine elevating the voices of residents working on the ground to rectify the wrongs committed by Norfolk Southern and the EPA against their rural community.

 

Join us as we continue to use our platform to explore the incredible journeys of community leaders and witness how their individual struggles fit together to form a tapestry of resilience and determination. All of our recorded calls can be accessed on our Training Call webpage.

 

For more information about our services and accomplishments, please read through this latest edition of Backyard Monthly.

Toxic Tuesday

Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers (PBDE) are chemicals that are flame retardants – meaning they are added to different materials to make them less susceptible to fires. PBDEs are found in various everyday materials, such as furniture.[Read more]

While getting cancer, liver disease or central nervous system damage is often associated with exposure to toxic chemicals, one of the most sensitive targets of toxic chemicals is the reproductive system. This has long been recognized for over… [Read more]

Training Calls

Last February, a 150-car freight train with 20 or so tanker cars carrying toxic chemicals derailed in East Palestine, OH. Local resident Jami Wallace, who experienced the accident and the intentional burn, and Amanda Kiger, from River Valley Organizing, shared their experiences after thi.[Watch now]

Backyard Talk Blogs

By Stephen Lester. Since immediately following the train derailment and intentional burn of toxic chemicals in East Palestine, OH, the USEPA has betrayed the public’s trust in government. The agency has put out a steady stream of statements[Read more]

By Sharon Franklin. In a recent op-ed, by Kamea Sibley Ozane and Roishetta Sibley Ozane in Teen Vogue, a Louisiana mother and daughter are followed on how they got involved in climate activism. Kamea is a 10-year-old who lives in Sulphur[Read more]

By Leila Waid. Pesticides are defined as “any substance or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling, or mitigating any pest” by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The US uses many different [Read more]

By Gregory Kolen. Climate change and environmental degradation pose a serious threat to our communities and the world as we know it. Environmental justice has become a cause for many people who want to preserve nature and keep our planet[Read more]

Do you find this information useful? Please consider pitching in and making a contribution to CHEJ. We appreciate your support!

42 years ago Lois Marie Gibbs knocked on her neighbors’ door to discuss what was happening to their Love Canal community. She galvanized her neighbors, they spoke up, held protests, assembled and demanded the federal government respond to the needs of the people and not to the greed of corporations. Now, 42 years later we are still fighting that same fight all over the country. You can just ask the people of East Palestine. Who are today’s victims of one of the worst toxic catastrophes in the country.

CHEJ continues to be committed to spending our time fighting the rollback and safeguards of the previous administrations and support proactive efforts for environmental justice. However, in these challenging times, we continue to need your help to move as quickly as possible to seize the moment and win as many cleanups of contaminated sites, before EPA prioritizes other issues.

Of course, the communities that we assist are saying “we can’t move fast enough” and that is why we need your assistance to take advantage of this window of opportunity. Due to the pandemic, support has changed in the last 3 years, but the needs remain great and it makes your contribution of $250, $150, $50 or whatever you can afford go a long way in providing the resources to push EPA to act at sites where people are being poisoned every single day.

Consider making a contribution today!

Now is the time to turn up the pressure to demand and win some real concrete health protections and cleanups for Unequal Response, Unequal Protection communities, like those in East Palestine and Bridgeport, Ohio.

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Toxic Tuesdays

Glycophosate

Toxic Tuesdays

CHEJ highlights several toxic chemicals and the communities fighting to keep their citizens safe from harm.

Glyphosate

Glyphosate is a chemical found in weed killer products such as RoundUpTM used on farms and home lawns. It gets absorbed by plant leaves, stopping plant growth within hours. Because of its effectiveness, glyphosate is found in widely used products that are easily obtainable. It is used all over the United States, but its highest concentrations are in the Midwest and Plains states. When glyphosate-containing weed killers are sprayed to kill plants, it can be inhaled and get on the skin. This can cause skin irritation and respiratory effects. People frequently working with glyphosate may be more likely to develop these respiratory effects. In scientific studies on animals, exposure to glyphosate during pregnancy caused developmental defects in the resulting offspring. Furthermore, there is concern that when combined with other chemicals found in weed killer products, glyphosate may have increased toxicity on humans.

Whether or not exposure to glyphosate increases the risk of cancer is inconclusive. The US EPA classifies it as not likely to cause cancer; however, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) concluded that it probably does. There have been allegations that large agrochemical corporations that use glyphosate in their products have close relationships with the governmental organizations that conduct the studies regarding glyphosate’s health risks. While more studies and risk assessments may need to be done to be certain of the risks, it is crucial that these studies are done transparently and without bias to protect and inform the public.

Learn about more toxics

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Backyard Talk Homepage

Reducing the Reuse of the Recycle Sign

By Hunter Marion.

In 2021, California passed a law restricting the use of the classic recycling symbol upon products that are not truly recyclable. Last May, this law, and substantial complaints over the years, triggered an official comment by the EPA against the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). This comment encouraged the FTC to update its Green Guides to regulate the symbol’s use more stringently amongst plastics companies.

At the heart of this issue, the EPA, several concerned environmental groups like Greenpeace and Beyond Plastics, and even the Biden Administration have found that the use of this symbol perpetuates plastic pollution and misleads consumers. This misleading stems from the linked usage of the recyclable symbol with “resin identification codes” (RIDs) on single-use plastics.

Simplified, RIDs range from 1 to 7, with 1-2 being plastics that are generally able to be successfully recycled, while plastics labelled 3-7 are instead trashed in landfills or incinerated. However, the general recycling populace usually knows nothing about these numbers, identifies the recycling symbol, and throws all their plastic into the same bin. Doing this creates a dramatic chokepoint for waste collection companies who must separate and sort the mixed plastics at their materials recovery facilities (MRFs). Consistently backed up and under pressure, a sizable portion of these plastics are not properly separated and are often dumped or burned.

While banning the recycling symbol for non-recyclable products would help cut down rampant waste and curtail decades of greenwashing, environmental advocates still push for the total reduction in plastics use by consumers entirely. Both Greenpeace and Beyond Plastics reported that in 2021 only 5-6 percent of the total plastic produced by the U.S. was effectively recycled. Over 400 million tons of plastic are produced every year, 42 million tons in the U.S. alone.

Greenpeace’s John Hocevar says that we “have to stop thinking of all this throwaway plastic as recyclable and treat it for what it is: a very problematic type of waste.” This should be the most important takeaway from this issue. Plastic, no matter how recyclable, is not a viable product that should be used on a mass scale. It should not be ubiquitous to almost every aspect of our lives. Instead, like Hocevar and Judith Enck from Beyond Plastics suggest, we should strive to distance ourselves from purchasing or using plastics in our everyday lives. Instead of getting fixated on the recycling portion, we should focus on the widescale reduction and, if possible, safe reuse of plastics rather than making more.