The Hidden Picture 
There are interesting linkages. My background is in planning, and planning conducted in a vacuum is problematic. In essence, great plans can be drafted for neighborhoods and cities, however if the social, political, legal, and tangible considerations are ignored, the planning effor
ts will fail in large part because adjacent and subjacent sources were not considered. In traditional planning where economic development, housing, transportation and open spaces reign, a key component often overlooked lies between the areas of Emergency Management, Disaster-Vulnerability Planning, and Environmental Risks Assessment. An example of the overlap between the scientific precision of risk assessment, disaster-vulnerability planning, and traditional planning is in an area I resided and worked in for several years dubbed East St. Louis.
East St. Louis has a dual definition in the greater St. Louis area. In reality East St. Louis (ESL) is a conglomeration of towns and small villages anchored by the City of East St. Louis, IL. These communities all face in varying degrees traditional planning challenges. However there issues at work in this area which are not readily seen in familiar photos of the Greater St. Louis area. This area is a classic case of uncontrolled industry, toxic dumping, and faulty communications.
LaGrega’s Quantitative Risk Assessment outlines Risk Management by stating it must “entail consideration of political, social, economic, and engineering information with risk-related information to develop, analyze, and compare regulatory options and to select the appropriate regulatory response to a potential chronic health hazard.” This sounds a lot like disaster-vulnerability planning.
ESL was home to several major corporations including Alcoa, and Armor Meat Packing. Specifically, soil and sediment samples from old abandoned industrial sites revealed the presence of chlorobenzenes, chlorophenols, chloroanilines, nitroanilines, dioxins, and polychlorinated byphenols (PCBs). Many of these chemicals are in the waterways and have been found in the main channel of the Mississippi River. These water bodies are also used for recreational and commercial fishing. Other materials found throughout these abandoned areas are polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorophenols, nitroaniline, and several heavy metals that include cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and zinc.
There are interesting linkages. My background is in planning, and planning conducted in a vacuum is problematic. In essence, great plans can be drafted for neighborhoods and cities, however if the social, political, legal, and tangible considerations are ignored, the planning effor
ts will fail in large part because adjacent and subjacent sources were not considered. In traditional planning where economic development, housing, transportation and open spaces reign, a key component often overlooked lies between the areas of Emergency Management, Disaster-Vulnerability Planning, and Environmental Risks Assessment. An example of the overlap between the scientific precision of risk assessment, disaster-vulnerability planning, and traditional planning is in an area I resided and worked in for several years dubbed East St. Louis.East St. Louis has a dual definition in the greater St. Louis area. In reality East St. Louis (ESL) is a conglomeration of towns and small villages anchored by the City of East St. Louis, IL. These communities all face in varying degrees traditional planning challenges. However there issues at work in this area which are not readily seen in familiar photos of the Greater St. Louis area. This area is a classic case of uncontrolled industry, toxic dumping, and faulty communications.
LaGrega’s Quantitative Risk Assessment outlines Risk Management by stating it must “entail consideration of political, social, economic, and engineering information with risk-related information to develop, analyze, and compare regulatory options and to select the appropriate regulatory response to a potential chronic health hazard.” This sounds a lot like disaster-vulnerability planning.
ESL was home to several major corporations including Alcoa, and Armor Meat Packing. Specifically, soil and sediment samples from old abandoned industrial sites revealed the presence of chlorobenzenes, chlorophenols, chloroanilines, nitroanilines, dioxins, and polychlorinated byphenols (PCBs). Many of these chemicals are in the waterways and have been found in the main channel of the Mississippi River. These water bodies are also used for recreational and commercial fishing. Other materials found throughout these abandoned areas are polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), chlorophenols, nitroaniline, and several heavy metals that include cadmium, cobalt, copper, lead, mercury, nickel, and zinc.
The NPL’s Sauget Area 2 (which is inside of the ESL area) is roughly 312 acres of hazardous industrial, municipal, and chemical wastes substances. Examples of hazardous levels include:
· Benzene at concentrations up to 10,000 ug/kg
· Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs)) at concentrations up to 25,000,000 ug/kg
· 4,4'-Dichlorodiphenyethlene (DDE) at 270 ug/kg
· Phenol at 2,300,000 ug/kg
· Lead at 728 ug/kg.
These substances have been identified on the property, in groundwater beneath the property, and in Mississippi River sediments. These hazardous substances are potential threats to the people who consume the carp, catfish, and drum fish from the Mississippi River near the site.
The Monsanto Chemical Plant is an EPA Superfund site, heavily contaminated with PCBs and numerous other toxins.
The question remains, what is this area doing to correct these issues? Are these issues relevant? Do the residents know how serious the toxic problem is in their backyard? My hope is they would see (as LeGrega suggest) the interconnectedness of solving the environmental risk issues and reclaiming economic solvency for the area. Businesses which could possibly be interested in relocating in the area are not inclined to bring their companies into a hotbed of environmental toxins. Tourists are not interested in taking in the sights of dilapidated buildings or abandoned factories with a hint of almond scented toxins. A key element in the areas turnaround is the not-so-forgotten abandoned industry waste.
Pictures
http://www.mrhiggins.net/algebra2/
http://curtislowe.wordpress.com/2008/07/
http://www.builtstlouis.net/eaststlouis/sauget02.html
http://www.builtstlouis.net/eaststlouis/central-industrial03.html
Source Material
http://www.epa.gov/region5superfund/npl/illinois/ILD000605790.htm
http://www.epa.gov/region5superfund/npl/illinois/ILD980792006.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment