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By Jonathan Sharp • Environmental Litigation Group, P.C.
Disadvantaged communities, especially communities of color, are more likely to live in areas contaminated by hazardous per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) at levels exceeding safe exposure compared to the general population in California. Consequently, they are more likely to consume unsafe drinking water. The intentional placement of polluting facilities, such as industrial sites or military installations, near communities of color, is a common phenomenon in the U.S., called environmental racism, and is discussed in the framework of environmental justice.
Scientific studies show that African Americans are 75% more likely than white people to live in areas near facilities producing noise, odor, and traffic, 68 % live near coal-fired power plants, and African Americans and Latins have twice as many oil and gas wells in their neighborhoods than white communities. Long-term exposure to toxic fumes, dust, and chemicals leads to increased health problems, such as cancer and respiratory issues.
PFAS is a group of chemicals used since the 1950s in various products, including aqueous film-forming foam (AFFF), a type of firefighting foam widely used by the military. PFAS are dangerous contaminants as they hardly break down in the environment, especially soil and groundwater. Long-term exposure to these “forever chemicals” leads to severe diseases such as decreased fertility, weakened immune systems, and various types of cancers. In March 2023, the Environmental Protection Agency established the maximum contamination levels (MCL) of PFOA and PFOS, the two most widespread and dangerous PFAS types, in drinking water at four parts per trillion (ppt), meaning virtually no contamination level is safe.
A team of scientists from Harvard University’s School of Public Health published the first-ever research on the connection between PFAS contamination and the proximity of PFAS pollution sites in areas with communities of color last year. The study demonstrated that communities with higher rates of Black and Hispanic individuals are more likely to be exposed to higher levels of PFAS than other communities.
Textbook examples of environmental racism and PFAS
The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) analyzed California’s PFAS contamination data from 2023 vis-à-vis the CalEnviroScreen, a tool developed by state agencies to identify California’s most environmentally overburdened communities. The tool considers multiple pollution sources and socio-economic factors, including race and ethnicity. Some parts of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties are among the areas most affected by environmental injustices.
Ventura County is home to three military bases located within 8 miles of each other, namely the Channel Islands Air National Guard Station with 12,000 ppt, the Naval Construction Battalion Center Port Hueneme with 1,080,000 ppt, and Point Mugu Naval Air Station with 46,343 ppt PFAS detected in their soil and groundwater. The military sites are located next to Oxnard city, where 86,7 % of the residents are people of color, out of which 75,8% are Hispanic, and Port Hueneme, with people of color comprising 72,7% and Hispanic people comprising 62,9% of the population. Vandenberg Air Force Base is in the neighboring Santa Barbara county near Lompoc city. The majority of the city’s residents are people of color, 71,4%, out of which 61,3% are Hispanic. The level of PFAS detected on the grounds of this air force base in 2019 was 158,200 ppt.
Even though the samples from the respective military bases were collected between 2017 and 2019, PFAS contamination remains a problem, as remediation works in 2023 were ongoing.
It is known that PFAS in groundwater migrates from the sites where AFFF was used, contaminating the drinking water systems of civilians living near the source of pollution. On its website, California’s State Water Resources Control Board mentions all of the above military bases as facilities known for substantial PFAS release due to AFFF use and marks numerous public drinking water wells around the bases to be monitored for PFAS.
There is legal support
California is a leading state in terms of environmental protection laws. It was one of the first states to codify environmental justice and the first state to enact a bill declaring clean and safe drinking water a human right of every Californian. Still, discriminatory policies shape the everyday reality of communities of color exposed to toxic environmental hazards, such as PFAS.
Environmental racism is part of a larger structural problem and goes hand in hand with other socio-economic inequalities, such as poverty and poor infrastructure. However, grassroots organizations are working hard to raise awareness of environmental injustices nationwide, while more and more victims are joining multidistrict lawsuits against responsible corporations. Furthermore, people struggling with a life-threatening illness as a result of chemical exposure should be informed of their legal rights, and they should know there are attorneys who can help.
About the Author
Jonathan Sharp is a Chief Financial Officer at Environmental Litigation Group, P.C., responsible for case evaluation and financial analysis. The Environmental Litigation Group, based in Birmingham, Alabama, is a law firm that works with victims of toxic exposure.
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