By Sharon Franklin.

Recent data collected by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) during a air monitoring trip included a benzene reading that was three times the Texas hourly guideline, which is the weakest in the nation.  In two instances, benzene fumes were so strong that scientists with TCEQ, experienced headaches and had to leave the area. 

Why is this important?  The health effects of benzene can cause immune problems, nervous system conditions, and even certain cancers. Acute symptoms of relatively short-term exposure to benzene include skin, eye, and respiratory tract irritation. Prolonged exposures to even low concentrations of benzene can result in central nervous system depression and arrhythmias, as well as trigger anemia and even compromise the immune system. It has been long established that benzene exposure can cause many forms of leukemia. Industries such as oil and gas can contribute to local benzene pollution greatly. The International Agency for Cancer Research (IARC) has classified benzene as carcinogenic to humans  (IARC group 1) since 1979. https://publications.iarc.fr/Book-And-Report-Series/Iarc-Monographs-On-The-Identification-Of-Carcinogenic-Hazards-To-Humans/Benzene-2018?link_id=2&can_id=c9993a1d3ecdb976c2e3dc6e3773d7b2&source=email-toxic-tuesday-addressing-questions-about-chemical-exposures&email_referrer=&email_subject=toxic-tuesday-benzene   

Despite warnings by state regulators, for nearly 20 years, dangerously high levels of cancer-causing chemical emissions have existed outside K-Solv, a chemical distribution facility in Channelview, Texas, as reported by Public Health Watch.   

Levels of Cancer-Causing Benzene Reached New Heights in Beleaguered Channelview, Texas. Regulators Never Told Residents.

A Texas Community Is Being Bombarded by Cancer-Causing Benzene. State Officials Have Known for Nearly Two Decades.

The readings in Channelview, Texas also exceeded what is considered safe by the city of Houston, Texas. The increased benzene levels found by TCEQ monitoring team in 2021 and 2022 were especially alarming because they weren’t recorded by the state’s closest stationary monitor, whose annual readings are used to gauge residents’ cancer risk.  Public Health Watch discovered the discrepancy when it compared hourly readings collected by the field scientists with hourly readings from the stationary monitor.  Rice University Professor, Loren Hopkins, a nationally recognized expert in environmental science used data from the stationary monitor to calculate the total lifetime cancer risk from chemical exposure for residents of south Channelview.  She also suggested the Channelview residents data is more than double the state and national average.  Professor Hopkins also stated the Channelview’s benzene levels are “unacceptably high”. “I definitely wouldn’t want to be the person exposed to this”.   She further said, that should the levels found in Channelview, Texas been recorded in Houston, Texas the residents would have received  (1) evacuation order, (8) shelter-in-place orders and (8) alerts.  However, Channelview residents received (0) notifications.

For 17 years, Tim Doty, managed the TCEQ mobile monitoring team and reviewed wind directions and sample and said the data shows that the scientists looked for benzene sources throughout south Channelview and “There’s no doubt from looking at the data that the primary source of the elevated benzene concentrations was from around K-Solv,”  “It’s right there.” “It’s obvious that they didn’t want people to see these numbers. Two years later is pretty outrageous — more than pretty outrageous”.

Recent developments in Channelview, Texas and K-Solv  On November 16, 2024, K-Solv had another major chemical leak, as reported by the Channelview Fire Department.  It was discovered that a 250-gallon tank was leaking liquid butyl acetate and “creating a vapor cloud” that was approaching homes, according to the Fire Department’s report.  https://www.documentcloud.org/documents/25452015-channelview-fire-department-incident-report/#document/p1

What is the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) Response? The TCEQ spokesperson said the agency has reviewed the science supporting benzene guidelines used by other institutions, but none of it has “warranted a reevaluation of TCEQ’s” guidelines. “Just because a scientific study is more recent does not make it the best scientific evidence.”

By Stephen Lester.

Excerpted from Bhopal: 40 Years of Injustice, an update and report by Amnesty International

Yesterday marked the 40th anniversary of the Bhopal Gas Tragedy, often considered the world’s worst chemical industrial disaster. Shortly before midnight on December 2, 1984, tons of the deadly chemical methyl isocyanate (MIC), along with other chemicals, began to leak from storage tanks on the property of the U.S. multinational corporation Union Carbide Corporation located on the outskirts of Bhopal in central India. Over the course of that night, more than 27 tons of this and other gases were released into the surrounding neighborhood exposing thousands of people.

According to Amnesty International, more than 570,000 people were exposed to the toxic cloud that night and more than 22,000 people have died, 10,000 within the first 3 days. Those who survived developed a wide range of adverse health problems including respiratory ailments, eye disease, immune system impairment, neurological and neuromuscular damage, cancers, gynecological disorders and mental health problems, as well as miscarriages and birth defects.

The gas leak pushed already impoverished communities into further destitution. In many families, the main wage earner died or became too ill to work. Women and children suffered disproportionately. Over the years that followed, the health effects of gas exposure began to be seen in subsequent generations, with research showing a large number of children born of gas-exposed parents suffered from growth retardation, birth defects and other medical conditions.

Making matters worse, thousands of tons of toxic waste remain buried in and around the abandoned plant to this day. Studies by many organizations over the years have shown ongoing pollution around the plant site, including contamination of soil and groundwater with heavy metals. This in turn has contaminated residents’ drinking water and harmed their health, adding to the already dismal health status of gas-exposed residents.

According to Amnesty International, the catastrophic gas leak was the foreseeable result of innumerable corporate failures, but Union Carbide’s response to the disaster was woefully inadequate and callous. Despite the fact that thousands of people were dying from gas exposure, or suffering agonizing injuries, the company withheld critical information regarding MIC’s toxicological properties, undermining the effectiveness of the medical response.

To this day, Union Carbide has failed to name any of the chemicals and reaction products that leaked along with MIC on that fateful night in December 1984. The Indian government has offered free health care to gas-exposed people in government hospitals ever since the gas leak, but standards of care have been grossly inadequate, forcing many patients to pay for private treatment and medicine.

In September 1986, the Indian government filed a claim against Union Carbide seeking $3.3 billion. In 1989, without consulting Bhopal survivors, the parties reached an out-of-court settlement for $470 million. This amount was less than 15% of the initial amount sought by the government, and far less than most estimates of the damage at the time. The mechanism put in place to distribute the money was also highly inadequate. Thousands of claims were never registered and people received only $350, a paltry amount that was quickly spent on medical bills.

This year, a group of survivors of the Bhopal tragedy toured the United States to help ensure that no other community suffers another major chemical disaster and to push the U.S. Congress to declare December 3^rd as National Chemical Disaster Awareness Day. They are also asking the US Department of Justice to serve the Indian government’s summons to Dow Chemical (who purchased Union Carbide in 1999) to appear in court which they have refused to do despite repeated efforts by the Indian government. Read about the 74 organizations that signed on in support of this effort here.

By Ben Chisam.

With the recent presidential election, it’s important to anticipate the incoming administration’s approach to environmental issues. While Trump’s exact plans are unclear, we can gain some insight from Project 2025, a federal policy agenda written by former Trump officials and The Heritage Foundation. 

Project 2025 is a thorough blueprint for restructuring the federal government, including the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Overall, the plan would greatly reduce the size and strength of the EPA to target the economic impact of environmental regulations. In practice, Project 2025 would reduce restrictions on toxic chemicals and cut federal environmental justice programs. 

Project 2025 sees environmental regulations as a barrier to economic growth, and proposes fewer restrictions on pollutants. While landmark environmental policies like the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act would remain in place, these statutes would be interpreted very narrowly.  For example, the National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) would be limited to only what is legally required by the Clean Air Act. Furthermore, they recommend revisiting the designation of PFAS (forever chemicals) as “hazardous substances” under the Superfund Law (CERCLA). This designation was put in place under the Biden administration and its reversal could have serious health consequences.

Project 2025 proposes the elimination of several EPA programs related to environmental justice, including the Office of Environmental Justice and External Civil Rights (OEJECR) and the Office of Children’s Health Protection (OCHP). Troublingly, the plan also discusses removing race from the EPA’s decision making process. They cite Supreme Court cases that have ruled against race-based affirmative action programs in college admissions to justify this shift. As we know, environmental injustices disproportionately affect communities of color. Therefore, it’s imperative that race continue to be considered in the distribution of environmental justice funds by the EPA. 

Last week, Trump nominated former New York congressman Lee Zeldin to head the EPA. Zeldin has been a vocal advocate of Trump, but has limited experience with environmental issues. Myron Ebell, who led Trump’s EPA transition team in 2016, has described Zeldin as someone with the potential to be a “great deregulator.” Additionally, while Trump has tried to separate himself from Project 2025, recently his administration has recruited several of its key architects.

This article isn’t intended to create a sense of doom and gloom. It’s important to stay informed about what changes lie ahead, but the core of our work – grassroots community organizing – will remain the same. Our two previous posts highlight this. In Climate Change and Community Action, Leila Waid emphasizes that “even in times of great political uncertainty, we are not powerless.” In How Change Happens: A Reminder from Lois Gibbs, our founding director writes that “every struggle, every victory counts,” no matter how small. To that end, the fight continues.

By Leila Waid.

During a presidential election cycle, it may feel like national-level politics will make or break the societal issues you care the most about for the next four years – or even beyond. Environmental justice and climate change have always been politically charged topics, so it’s no wonder that during this election cycle, people felt a lot of climate anxiety. In fact, climate anxiety among youth is on the rise, according to the World Economic Forum. The uncertainty, fear, and anxiety that individuals feel about what the future will entail is understandable, given the stark warnings that climate scientists have provided. For example, the IPCC states that “Today, our chances of limiting warming to 1.5 °C are hanging on a very slender thread. The recent UNEP Gap Report concluded that global emissions would need to fall by 7.5 percent per year through to 2035 to return us to a 1.5 °C pathway.”

When the national tides turn against climate action, it can feel overwhelming. However, it’s essential to not let yourself become so anxious and worried about the future that you become immobilized from acting now. One of the best ways to deal with large-scale political setbacks is to realize that actions don’t need to be grand – you can be just as impactful at the local level. Utilizing grassroots organizing to spur community action and increase community resilience is one of the best ways to get involved in climate action.

So, what do grassroots climate action activities look like around the country and beyond? In LA, an organization called Crop Swap works directly with families and communities to take spacious and empty green lawns and turn them into micro-farms. Their approach helps feed dozens of local families, uses solar power, and provides significantly less water than traditional farms. Microfarming can be a great climate adaptation technique for drought-prone areas.

Decarbonization is another area of focus for community action. Many cities, such as New York, Toronto, and Oslo, have pledged to reduce their carbon emissions by eighty-five to a hundred percent. The governing bodies in these cities are planning to achieve these goals by switching fully to renewable energy, improving the efficiency of old buildings, promoting electric vehicle transition, and investing in public transport. Some ways to get involved with local decarbonization policies is to be educated on where your city or town stands regarding net neutrality commitments, getting involved in local politics, and advocating for decarbonization action with your local representatives.

Another community action that can be taken is “community healing.” An article by Maldonaldo et al. describes how Indigenous communities utilize cultural practices, such as “spiritual connection” to the land, as a way to cope with climate stressors, such as relocation. As the authors mention, even in situations where relocation becomes imperative, “it is critical to support communities in continuing their cultures, traditions, and practices in new places.”

Even in times of great political uncertainty, we are not powerless. As long as we invest in our communities, build up each other’s strengths, and invest in each other, we can adapt and mitigate the changing climate. To quote climate activist Thelma Young Lutunatabua, “The question shouldn’t be will my actions be enough? But will our actions be enough? This is a communal quest.”

By Lois Gibbs.

As we sit back and ponder yesterday’s election results, it seems like a good time to pause and reflect on how lasting change happens. One valuable lesson is that long-term change, a cultural shift in society, begins at and grows from local communities to the national level. Peter Montague, a scholar of the grassroots environmental health movement who has written about lasting change talks about changing the climate of opinion. He wrote that, “today slavery is not only illegal, it is unthinkable. The climate of opinion would not allow a serious proposal to bring back slavery or allow a public debate over a proposal to prohibited women from voting.” Once a climate of opinion victory has been achieved, it is difficult to reverse.

When Lois Gibbs began her struggle at Love Canal in Niagara Falls, New York, she set out to protect her children from the leaking 20,000 tons of toxic wastes buried in the center of her neighborhood. Like many people, Lois believed that government would protect her and her family if there was a problem that required its intervention. She also believed that science was pure and never used politically against innocent families. Yes, she was naïve when she first got involved.

In her own words, “What I learned is that every struggle, every victory counts. Science and laws are tools in our tool box, in our efforts to win change. At Love Canal, it was shocking to hear that the state health department agreed that 56% of our children were born with birth defects. But it was more shocking to learn that the health authorities believed this rate was due to a random clustering of genetic defect people – not the 20,000 tons of chemicals leaking into our homes, air and neighborhood. And the burden of proof, beyond the shadow of doubt, was thrust upon our shoulders.

“With this new understanding of how science was used against us in the political arena, our community worked to win over public opinion to obtain justice. Mothers with sick children were creditable messengers as they pointed to the governor as responsible for the cover up. Moreover, state health authorities looked foolish with their “cluster of genetically damaged people” statement. Essentially, we changed the public opinion of how our health department was behaving. They were not protecting public health at Love Canal, rather they were protecting corporate profits and government resources from being used to resolve the problem and protect innocent people.

“Our story went national and then international. Suddenly women and men stood up worldwide to say they too have been harmed by environmental chemicals. You couldn’t open a newspaper anywhere that was not covering a story about ‘another Love Canal.’ People nationwide were educated and felt strongly that innocent people harmed by pollution should absolutely be helped. A movement was born of ordinary people, many of low wealth and of color, standing together to demand protection.

“The ‘climate of public opinion’ shifted dramatically. The Superfund law was passed that provided federal funds to address other Love Canal-like situations. The Right-To-Know law was passed to give both workers and the community the right to information about chemicals used, stored or disposed in their community. A federal health agency was established under Centers for Disease Control to assess environmental chemical risks. And equally important, not one new commercial hazardous waste landfill has been built since 1984. Although it is still legal to build such facilities, it’s no longer acceptable to the American people.

“Why is all of this important? Because it is important that people understand that every victory, no matter how small or local, will add voice and power to change the climate of public opinion, making certain actions unacceptable. Local victories in which citizens tackle a problem will improve the local environment. Local victories have other benefits as well — they give people real experience in making democracy work, they create connections between strangers, and they can even seed the idea that the community should be planning ahead to take control of its own destiny.

“After a series of local fights has highlighted a problem, government policy becomes ripe for change. Local fights are the basic engine for identifying problems, inventing solutions, and eventually changing government and corporate policies. Local fights ‘trickle up’ to higher levels of government where they generate new policies. Unfortunately, policy victories are rarely permanent and must be defended again and again. They are just important steps along the way. The victory of a change driven by the climate of opinion is much more difficult to reverse than a policy victory. The climate of opinion determines what kind of behavior is unthinkable. Climate of opinion changes are so big that often we aren’t even aware of them.

“So, the question for all of us as, we move forward, is how can we create the climate of public opinion that demands the prevention of harm, protects our forests, mountains and rivers, our air, water and communities and stop contributing to climate change? This is a big question that can only be answered when leaders have a focused inclusive conversation, across issues and geographical lines.”

This article was edited from an earlier article written by Lois Marie Gibbs, the founding director of the Center for Health, Environment & Justice.  

By Gregory Kolen II.

As individuals who care deeply about the health of our communities, environment, and future, we know that the decisions made at every level of government impact us all. Voting is one of the most effective ways to shape those decisions, ensuring our voices are heard on issues that matter most.

At the Center for Health, Environment & Justice, we believe that every person has the right to live in a safe, healthy environment. Voting connects us with this right, giving each of us a say in policies that impact public health, climate action, and environmental justice.

Here’s how you can make a difference:

• Mark the Date: Check your local voting dates and mark them on your calendar. Every vote counts, whether it’s a local, state, or national election.
• Be Informed: Research the candidates and measures on your ballot. Understanding their positions on issues like clean water, air quality, waste management, and climate change empowers you to make choices that reflect your values.
• Spread the Word: Encourage friends, family, and neighbors to vote. Many people don’t vote simply because they aren’t reminded or don’t feel their voice matters. Your encouragement can make all the difference!
• Vote Early or By Mail if You Can: Many areas offer early voting or mail-in ballots, making it easier to fit voting into your schedule.

Voting is not just a right; it’s a responsibility to our communities and our planet. Let’s take a stand for health, environment, and justice by showing up at the polls. Together, we can make a lasting impact. Be sure you are ready to vote by visiting vote.gov.