Environmental Research Foundation, August 11, 2009
UNION COUNTY: ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE, TOXIC EXPOSURES & HEALTH
By Peter Montague
Union County has an "Environmental Justice" Profile
Union County, N.J. is 22.7 percent Black, which is 56% higher than the statewide average of 14.5%. And Union County is 25.1% Hispanic, which is 57% higher than the statewide average of 15.9%. (Data for the year 2007 is available here: http://tinyurl.com/pl5v6k.)
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Union County Already has More than Its Fair Share of Industrial Hazards
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has identified 189 serious environmental hazards in Union County. These include toxic industrial discharges to air and water, and contaminated sites. When you measure the number of environmental hazards per square mile, Union County ranks #2 among New Jersey's 21 counties (only Hudson County has more environmental hazards per square mile than Union County).
Union County has more than 6 times as many environmental hazards per square mile, compared to the N.J. statewide average.
Industrial Hazards Cluster in Communities of Below-average Income
So Union County has far more than its fair share of industrial hazards to health. Worse yet, these environmental hazards are not evenly distributed across the county. Neighborhoods with below-average income, and neighborhoods with an above-average percent People of Color have 2 to 3 times as many environmental hazards per square mile compared to whiter or wealthier neighborhoods in Union County.
Specifically, pollution maps show that people with below-average family income in Union County have 2.6 times as many environmental hazards (per square mile) in their neighborhoods compared to people with above-average income.
(In these maps the "average" means the median. In a group of numbers, the median is the mid-point: half the numbers lie above the median and half lie below the median. For example in the string of numbers 1, 2, 3, 8, 16, the median is 3.)
Here is a map showing Union County neighborhoods with below-average income (mapped in blue), compared to neighborhoods with above-average income (mapped in green). The yellow circles represent environmental hazards identified by EPA. Several municipalities are labeled.
Here is the same map with the municipal labels removed, to make it easier to see where environmental hazards lie compared to lower-income (blue) neighborhoods vs. higher-income (green) neighborohoods.
Industrial Hazards Cluster in Communities of Color
Now here is a map showing Union County neighborhoods with above-average percent People of Color (mapped in blue), compared to neighborhoods with below-average percent People of Color (mapped in green). The yellow circles represent environmental hazards identified by EPA. Several municipalities are labeled.
Here is the same map with the municipal labels removed, to make it easier to see where the environmental hazards lie.
In sum, Union County already has far more than its fair share of environmental hazards. Furthermore, people in neighborhoods with below-average income, and people in neighborhoods with above-average percent People of Color, are 2 to 3 times as likely to be living near an industrial hazard, compared to people in whiter, wealthier neighborhoods.
[A lengthy report describing how these maps were made, giving sources of the data, can be found online here: http://tinyurl.com/kja2aw (29 megabytes).]
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People in Union County are already dying from air pollution
Union County already fails to meet minimal federal health standards for soot (also known as fine particles). (See http://tinyurl.com/dapofc)
The N.J. DEP estimates that soot in the air is presently killing 1900 people every year in New Jersey (five funerals every day) and causing 53,000 cases of asthma. Six percent of New Jersey's people live in Union County (524,658 out of 8,685,920 in 2007), so we can estimate that soot is killing 114 people in Union County each year and causing 3180 cases of asthma in the county. (See pgs. 1-7: http://tinyurl.com/dapofc)
Therefore any additional pollution in Union County will make an intolerable situation worse, killing more people, giving more kids asthma, and generally degrading the quality of life.
Based on a similar modern coal plant being built in Indiana, we can estimate that PurGen One will add 11.3 million pounds (5,662 tons) of air pollution to Union County each year, including 104 tons of volatile organic compounds (VOCs), 2,877 tons of nitrogen oxides, 67 tons of sulfuric acid mist and 532 tons of soot (fine and ultrafine particles). See http://tinyurl.com/lrs436
Thus, this is a prime example of environmental injustice.
But of course soot is not the only kind of pollution present in the air of Union County.
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Toxic Air Exposures in Union County are Above Average
[Contaminated air data from N.J. State Health Assessment Data (NJSHAD) online here: http://tinyurl.com/l3ya9d. The term ug/m3 means "micrograms of chemical per cubic meter of air." A microgram is a millionth of a gram and there are 28 grams in an ounce. A cubic meter is roughly a cubic yard.]
1,3-Butadiene (ug/m3 in 1999): N.J. average: 0.15, Union County: 0.18 (Union is 20% above the N.J. average.)
Acetaldehyde (ug/m3 in 1999): N.J. average: 1.85, Union County: 2.39 (Union is 29% above the N.J. state average.)
Acrolein (ug/m3 in 1999): N.J. average: 0.14, Union County: 0.22 (Union is 28% above the N.J. state average.)
Chloroform (ug/m3 in 1999) N.J. average: 0.1, Union County: 0.12 (Union is 20% above the N.J. state average.)
Diesel soot (ug/m3 in 1999) N.J. average: 1.8, Union County: 2.09 (Union is 16% above the N.J. state average.)
Formaldehyde (ug/m3 in 1999) N.J. average: 1.92, Union County: 2.46 (Union is 28% above the N.J. state average.)
Naphthalene (ug/m3 in 1999): N.J. average: 0.07, Union County: 0.12 (Union is 71% above the N.J. state average.)
Perchloroethylene (ug/m3 in 1999): N.J. average: 0.24, Union County: 0.32 (Union is 33% above the N.J. state average.)
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The Cancer Risk from Air Contaminants in Union County is High
The federal government recently released a report on the total cancer risk from 187 toxic air contaminants. The report compared all 3,223 counties in the U.S.
The national average in all counties is 36 cancers per million people. The average of all counties in New Jersey is 41.5 cancers per million people (15% above the national average). The cancer risk in Union County is 51.2 -- which is 23% above the New Jersey average and 41% above the national average. See http://tinyurl.com/lakb9z.
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Health in Union County is below average
[Data from N.J. State Health Assessment Data [NJSHAD] online here: http://tinyurl.com/n3ln8b.]
Percent very low birth weight (1999-2004): N.J. average: 1.5, Union County: 1.8 (Union County is 20% above the N.J. state average.)
Percent of children less than age 3 with blood lead > 10 ug/dL in 2004): N.J. average: 1.59, Union County: 1.93 (Union County is 21% above the N.J. state average.) [The term ug/dL means "micrograms of toxic lead in each tenth of a liter of blood." A liter is roughly a quart.]
Percent of children less than age 3 with blood lead > 20 ug/dL in 2004: N.J. average: 0.3, Union County: 0.42 (Union County is 40% above the N.J. state average.)
Infant mortality rate 2000-2004 (per thousand births): N.J. average: 5.91, Union County: 6.2 (Union County is 4.9% above the N.J. state average.)
Low birth weight (% live births, 2001-2005): N.J. average: 7.65, Union County: 8.2 (Union is 14% above the N.J. state average.)
Perinatal mortality (2000-2004): N.J. average: 6.1, Union County: 7.3 (Union County is 20% above the N.J. state average.)
Percent live births with no prenanatal care (2001-2005) N.J. average: 0.98, Union County: 2 (Union County is 104% above the N.J. state average.)
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Summary
1. The population of Union County is disproportionately Black and Hispanic.
2. The air of Union County already fails to meet federal health standards for deadly soot, and it has more than its fair share of many toxic contaminants.
3. The risk of cancer from toxic air contaminants is elevated in Union County
4. The health of people in Union County falls below statewide averages.
5. The 750 megaWatt coal-based power plant proposed for Linden in Union County will process 2 million tons of coal each year, turning it into a "synthetic gas" (syngas), which will then be burned to make electricity.
Although the proposed plant will use the latest modern technology, it will still emit large quantities (5,662 tons) of air pollution into Union County each year, killing people, causing asthma and other illnesses, and making a bad situation worse.
The plant will be highly automated, employing only 50 people on three shifts for a total of 150 jobs.
6. This is a classic case of environmental injustice.