Center for Health, Environment & Justice
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Day: June 19, 2024

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Juneteenth and Environmental Justice: Intersecting Struggles for Freedom and Equity

By Gregory Kolen.

Juneteenth, celebrated on June 19th, marks the day in 1865 when enslaved African Americans in Texas were informed of their emancipation, two and a half years after the Emancipation Proclamation. This day has evolved into a broader celebration of African American freedom, culture, and achievements. As we reflect on Juneteenth, it is crucial to recognize its relevance to ongoing struggles for justice, including the environmental justice movement. Both movements, at their core, seek to address deep-seated inequities and strive for a future where all people can thrive.

Historical Context and Shared Struggles

The environmental justice movement emerged in the late 20th century in response to the disproportionate burden of environmental hazards borne by marginalized communities, particularly communities of color and low-income groups. This movement recognizes that environmental issues are not just about nature but are deeply intertwined with social justice, economic inequality, and systemic racism. Similarly, Juneteenth is a reminder of the historical and ongoing fight against racial oppression and the quest for true freedom and equality.

African American communities have long been at the forefront of environmental justice activism. From protesting hazardous waste sites in Warren County, North Carolina, in the 1980s to advocating for cleaner air in urban neighborhoods, these communities have highlighted how environmental degradation disproportionately affects people of color. This connection underscores a broader understanding of freedom and justice, one that includes the right to live in a safe and healthy environment.

A Continuing Challenge

Environmental racism refers to the policies and practices that disproportionately expose communities of color to environmental hazards. These communities often live near industrial facilities, waste disposal sites, and other sources of pollution. The resulting health disparities, such as higher rates of asthma, cancer, and other illnesses, reflect a legacy of systemic neglect and discrimination.

Juneteenth reminds us that freedom from slavery was just the beginning of the struggle for African Americans. Similarly, achieving environmental justice requires confronting and dismantling the structures that perpetuate these inequities. It calls for recognizing the historical context in which these environmental injustices occur and addressing the root causes of racial and economic disparities.

Building a Just and Sustainable Future

The intersection of Juneteenth and environmental justice is also about envisioning a future where equity and sustainability go hand in hand. This vision includes:

  1. Inclusive Policy Making: Ensuring that marginalized communities have a voice in environmental decision-making processes. Policies should be designed with the input and leadership of those most affected by environmental harms.
  2. Equitable Access to Resources: Promoting access to clean air, water, and land, as well as green spaces and renewable energy sources. This includes addressing food deserts and promoting sustainable agriculture in underserved communities.
  3. Economic Empowerment: Creating green jobs and economic opportunities in marginalized communities. This can help address both environmental and economic inequities, fostering resilience and self-sufficiency.
  4. Education and Awareness: Raising awareness about environmental justice issues and their connections to broader social justice movements. Education can empower communities to advocate for their rights and hold polluters accountable.

As we celebrate Juneteenth, we honor the resilience and contributions of African Americans throughout history. At the same time, we acknowledge the ongoing struggles for justice and equity. The environmental justice movement, like the fight for civil rights, is rooted in the belief that all people deserve to live free from oppression and harm. By connecting these two movements, we can work towards a future where freedom and justice are not just ideals but realities for all.

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Toxic Tuesdays

How the Duration of Exposure Affects Toxicity

Toxic Tuesdays

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

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How the Duration of Exposure Affects Toxicity

CHEJ has previously written about the importance of considering multiple chemical exposures when assessing the toxicity of exposure to toxic chemicals. In addition, it is also important to consider the duration of exposure. How long was a person exposed? What was the concentration of the substance(s) during this period of time are critical to truly understanding the cumulative effects that a person has suffered? Without this information, we can only partially understand the risks of exposure to toxic chemicals. 

Yet when evaluating whether exposures to toxic chemicals pose risks to human health, the government’s approach is usually very narrow: it assumes there is a single chemical from a single source at a single point in time with a single exposure pathway causing a single health effect. This approach makes risk assessment more feasible and understandable, but it does not reflect the reality of our lives.

In reality, we are exposed to multiple chemicals at a time and exposures can happen over a long period of time. This means that considering the potential effects of a single exposure to a single chemical isn’t sufficient for evaluating public health risks. We need to include cumulative risks that account for both multiple chemical exposures and exposure over time in order to begin to understand the risks to public health. But incorporating these parameters into a risk assessment poses significant new challenges that  requires more estimates and generates additional uncertainty than the traditional risk assessment approach.

In many cases, exposure assessments assume that exposure to a chemical happens in a single instant in time. In some cases – like cancer risk – EPA assumes that risk is proportional to the lifetime dose. In general, longer exposure means greater risk, but the relationship between duration of exposure and health risk is complicated. The risk depends on the effects an exposure has on the body and the body’s response to it. In some cases, the body may adapt to exposure and the threat over time may be less than additive. In other cases, the body may become more sensitive and the threat over time may be more than additive. Repeated exposure can also influence health risk: past exposure to some chemicals can make us more vulnerable to subsequent exposure. And how do you consider the effects caused by exposure to multiple chemicals that target the same organ in the body can cause more damage than exposure to any of those chemicals individually?

The effect of exposure over time is important to consider in risk assessments, but agencies like EPA and ATSDR do not have comprehensive frameworks for how to assess this cumulative risk. Part of the reason for this is a lack of data. The guideline values we use to evaluate risks are driven by data generated from exposures to a single chemical for a defined period of time. For common chemicals and chemical mixtures that people are exposed to, we need to know how different concentrations and durations of exposure affect health. There is a need for more scientific study on how exposures to chemicals over long periods of time can impact our risk for adverse health effects. Once people have been exposed to chemicals, we also need better tools to measure their past exposure so it can be accounted for in risk assessments.

While more research and data is crucial, there will always be uncertainty in science and data, and we cannot let uncertainty stop us from taking action to protect health. In addition to more scientific study, we need clearer guidelines from federal agencies regarding how to consider cumulative risk – both from multiple chemical exposures and exposures over time – in evaluating if an environmental hazard is a threat to human health. We also need to acknowledge how poor the tools we have are at considering cumulative risks caused by exposures to multiple chemicals over time.

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