Topic of Interest
M7.8 Topic of Interest
I read the "Love Canal: A Story Continues..." by Lois Gibbs for our NYT style book review. It was about a community movement for retribution and removal from the gov't and a chemical company after living on a superfund site. This story takes place between 1978 - 1980, however this is by far not the end of situations where neighborhoods are schools are built on and around this hazardous waste dump sites.
I was talking with a friend of mine who is a public school teacher in NOLA, and she said how a community in her district just won a settlement because a school and neighborhood was on a toxic waste sight. She also talked about a sister campus to the high school that she presently worked at, just opened up and she was offered a chance to work at the facility, but older teachers at the school warned her of the potential health effects that could manifest from working on the campus because of the proximity to a superfund site.
I am hoping to do a literature review on health impact, regulation and history on this issue, because history seems to keep repeating itself. The EPA, after the passing of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, guidelines for schools to follow to implement environmental health school programs at existing facilities. However the guidelines are voluntary and are solely a recommendation to promote the safety of students. Schools are regulated to follow environmental regulations and environmental compliance at a state level. The federal department of education could also be a regulatory organization that could provide a guiding hand in intervening for proper school site selection or environmental protection prior to a school being built or proper maintenance after it has been built. However, the federal gov't does not have much jurisdiction within this area as they only supply 8% of funding to public schools, whereas the local gov't supplies the majority of the funding for public education through property tax.
I read the "Love Canal: A Story Continues..." by Lois Gibbs for our NYT style book review. It was about a community movement for retribution and removal from the gov't and a chemical company after living on a superfund site. This story takes place between 1978 - 1980, however this is by far not the end of situations where neighborhoods are schools are built on and around this hazardous waste dump sites.
I was talking with a friend of mine who is a public school teacher in NOLA, and she said how a community in her district just won a settlement because a school and neighborhood was on a toxic waste sight. She also talked about a sister campus to the high school that she presently worked at, just opened up and she was offered a chance to work at the facility, but older teachers at the school warned her of the potential health effects that could manifest from working on the campus because of the proximity to a superfund site.
I am hoping to do a literature review on health impact, regulation and history on this issue, because history seems to keep repeating itself. The EPA, after the passing of the Energy Independence and Security Act of 2007, guidelines for schools to follow to implement environmental health school programs at existing facilities. However the guidelines are voluntary and are solely a recommendation to promote the safety of students. Schools are regulated to follow environmental regulations and environmental compliance at a state level. The federal department of education could also be a regulatory organization that could provide a guiding hand in intervening for proper school site selection or environmental protection prior to a school being built or proper maintenance after it has been built. However, the federal gov't does not have much jurisdiction within this area as they only supply 8% of funding to public schools, whereas the local gov't supplies the majority of the funding for public education through property tax.
This is a very interesting topic. It's true when they say history repeats itself. In situations like this, I almost feel like people at some point think that everyone has forgotten about the dangers of growing on hazardous land and that when people forget, it becomes okay again to build on the site. It's important that superfund places or land that has been contaminated with hazardous waste be fully labeled and this information never lost. I'm interested to know what information you find!
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