Review of Documentary: Green

The documentary Green was directed, produced, and edited by Laura Dunn in 2000.
Click HERE for additional information about the filming of this documentary.

Summary

This eye-opening film takes a look at the issues of environmental racism and environmental injustice, particularly focusing on Cancer Alley in Louisiana.

In the 1930s, the state of Louisiana offered tax exemptions for chemical plants that started up business there. This led to many chemical makers and refineries along the Mississippi River, stretching from Baton Rouge to New Orleans – an area now known as Cancer Alley. Presently, the concentration of chemical plants is astonishingly high, with around 150 petrochemical plants in the 100-mile stretch of land. These huge, wealthy companies give nothing to the surrounding poor communities (except for noise and chemical pollution). These companies are all self-regulated, of course, which leaves me with little hope that they are planning on changing their ways anytime soon. As if this isn’t bad enough, more plants are still being allowed to start up in this area. For example, the Japanese corporation SHINTECH was trying to build a PVC plant in Convent, Louisiana.

I found this documentary to be very effective because it was brought down to a personal level through interviews of the citizens that have to deal with this mess everyday. Their stories were heart-wrenching, and described the awful effects of their contaminated environment: children with high rates of asthma and nosebleeds, and especially all the cases of rare forms of cancer. The Mississippi River is highly polluted, and fish and shrimp can no longer be eaten from it. In some areas, the soil is so toxic that people have been forced to give up their personal gardens. Everything is contaminated by chemicals: the water, the air, the ground. It seems as if the dangers are inescapable for residents; in fact, minorities in this area experience disproportionate amounts of cancer.

Dunn did a great job of portraying environmental injustice through the stories of the citizens, but also through her cinematography. Certain shots such as the train with car after car bearing a chemical warning really drove home the extent of this problem. Also, the series of company logos that have plants in the area seemed to go on forever. At another point, charts were shown that depicted the high rates of air pollution concentration in Louisiana as opposed to other parts of the country.


New Terms

benzene: a sweet smelling, highly toxic hydrocarbon; long-term exposure to benzene is known to cause anemia and leukemia

Cancer Alley: an area along the Mississippi River between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, in the River Parishes of Louisiana, which contains numerous industrial plants

developmental toxin: substance that causes malformations of an embryo or fetus

environmental injustice: inequitable environmental burdens borne by groups such as racial minorities, women, residents of economically disadvantaged areas, or residents of developing nations

environmental justice: the movement to reverse environmental racism

environmental racism: intentional or unintentional racial discrimination in the enforcement of environmental rules and regulations, the intentional or unintentional targeting of minority communities for the placement of polluting industries, or the exclusion of minority groups from public and private boards, commissions, and regulatory bodies

neuroblastoma: a leading childhood form of cancer that arises in the adrenal gland or in tissue in the nervous system that is related to the adrenal gland

reproductive toxin: chemicals that can damage the reproductive systems of both men and women. Exposure to these agents before conception can produce a wide range of adverse effects including reduced fertility, an abnormal fetus, reduced libido, or menstrual dysfunction. Maternal exposure after conception may cause prenatal death, low birth weight, birth defects, developmental and/or behavioral disabilities, and cancer.

rhabdomyosarcoma: a malignant tumor composed of striated muscle fibers


Concepts that Challenged My Thinking

First of all, I can’t believe houses were allowed to be built on top of toxic landfills. Now that the repercussions of this poor planning are being realized, the top two feet of the ground are being cleared off. This is in no way going to fix the problem. Making matters worse, the people who live in this area were not even given the courtesy of being relocated. Construction was going on right outside their doorstep! Why is the EPA not being an ally for these people? Isn’t that their purpose, to be a protection agency? Also, the thought that these people are considered “expendable” just makes me so angry. Consider the definition of expendable: not worth preserving, able to be sacrificed to achieve an objective, capable of being replaced. In my opinion, labeling any human being in this manner is quite unethical.

I was really shocked by the way the reports of cancers in southern Louisiana are conducted. Apparently, the reports are divided into regions, causing the data to be spread out and therefore skewed. The concentration of cancer cases appears diluted compared to how it would look if it was accurately portrayed parish by parish. Also, it appears that the Louisiana Chemical Association funds this tumor registry. Really? I’m willing to bet that factors into the way the data is portrayed, don’t you think?

Another thing that really bothered me was how casually the people from these chemical companies treat the subject. The representative who was talking about how she respected the environment and planted a garden to attract birds and insects seemed unaware of the dire circumstances of residents living in the actual neighborhoods surrounding the plants. Also, the subject of the explosion in Norco was just glossed over by saying that at least the town got refurbished! Considering eight employees died in this explosion, I don’t know if a little cosmetic work for the town really evens things out.

Also, I realized I’m not doing anything to reverse this problem. In fact, I’m even contributing to it every day! I never stopped to think how practically EVERYTHING we use these days is touched by the chemical industry: soap, lipstick, contact lenses, glasses, pipes, shingles, and tires – the list is endless. It’s upsetting to think that by making a cheap purchase of a product in a store, I am taking advantage of other people who have to deal with the direct effects of these chemical companies.


Additional Resources

Many of us were shocked at the part of the documentary that talked about the people living on the landfill. For more information about the Agriculture Street Landfill, visit these two sites:
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/HAC/PHA/agriculturestreet/asl_p1.html#sum

http://www.umich.edu/~snre492/Jones/agstreet.htm#PROBLEM

Did SHINTECH succeed in getting a plant in Louisiana? Click HERE to find out.

For further information on the Shell explosion in Norco and the harm this company has caused to surrounding communities, check out this book excerpt.

(Photo taken by David Farmer at stock.xchng.)

Review of Reading 16: Ill Winds: The Chemical Plant Next Door

A review of Ill Winds: The Chemical Plant Next Door by Becky Bradway.
Published in E: The Environmental Magazine, September/October 2002


Summary

This article talks about one woman’s personal experience with the unfair environmental conditions many rural towns are subjected to. Bradway spent part of her childhood living in Buffalo, Illinois, one of the small towns near Borden Chemical and Plastics. She discusses the negative effects that those chemical emissions had on the health of the workers and the surrounding environment. Eventually, the author’s mother and uncle died of cancer, and Bradway battled cancer herself.

Borden, Inc. built a PVC plant in 1962, and in 1987 it came under new ownership as Borden Chemicals and Plastics Limited Partnership. Later on, the company went bankrupt and was purchased by Formosa Plastics Corporation in 2002.

This article is divided into three parts and discusses the effects of lax regulations on rural plants and factories in our nation.


Borden and Buffalo

While reading the article, I was faced with many questions. For example, why was this factory allowed to stay despite its emission of many harmful chemicals? What it boils down to is that rural people have no power. Why didn’t the citizens just move to find other jobs? This is easier said than done, and needs to be looked at from the perspective of such communities: people are born, raised, and die there. A lack of opportunity combined with lifestyle choices keeps them from leaving, and so companies such as Borden Chemical are necessary to provide jobs.

Relics Remain

The main products of Borden were resins, formaldehyde, and polyvinyl chloride (PVC). These chemicals cause high rates of liver and breast cancer amongst workers and make their way into the surrounding environment. A particularly disturbing fact is that multiple companies and farms are polluting the nearby Sangamon River, wells, and landfills. These companies obtain waivers and exemptions that allow them to disregard environmental protection laws. The result? Here are some shocking facts:

• Borden once shipped 2,500 drums of highly toxic mercury waste to South African which then leaked contaminants.

• Borden can legally dump 800,000 gallons of wastewater into a local stream (in an area where people hunt and fish) EVERY DAY.

• Borden releases a combined 105,000 pounds of vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate into the air every year.

Blue-Collar Risks

A simple solution would be for employees to just refuse to do these hazardous jobs, right? Wrong. Many of these people are forced to risk their health at the expense of losing their jobs. The author mentions how in one factory, workers were told to clean “mystery chemicals” out of tanks. Those who obeyed all contracted a rare cancer, and those who refused lost their jobs. Other available jobs, such as construction, came with risks of their own so there really was no escape for many citizens. Despite the choices individuals made to keep their families safe, many health risks were unfortunately both unbeknown to them and beyond their control.


New Terms

industrial chemicals: chemicals developed or manufactured for use in industrial operations or research by industry, government, or academia

coal tar: a tar formed from distillation of bituminous coal

vinyl chloride: a substance used in manufacturing plastics; known to be toxic and carcinogenic (cancer-causing); breathing high levels of vinyl chloride for short periods of time can cause dizziness, sleepiness, unconsciousness and, at extremely high levels, death, while breathing vinyl chloride for long periods of time can result in permanent liver damage, nerve damage, liver cancer, brain tumors, lung cancer, and malignancies of the digestive tract

resin: any of a large class of synthetic products that have some of the physical properties of natural resins but are chemically different and are used chiefly in plastics

formaldehyde: a pungent, colorless, toxic, water-soluble gas that is used as a disinfectant and preservative; also used in the manufacture of synthetic resins, dyes, and plastics

polyvinyl chloride (PVC): a common thermoplastic resin, used in a wide variety of manufactured products, including rainwear, garden hoses, phonograph records, and floor tiles

ethylene dichloride: a colorless, toxic, and extremely flammable liquid with a mild odor that produces poisonous gases when it burns; usually converted to vinyl-chloride monomer for PVC production

vinyl-chloride monomer: an extremely flammable gas with a faint odor; a known human carcinogen with dangerous toxic effects when absorbed by the skin or inhaled; also causes severe irritation of the eyes; used to produce PVC

hydrogen chloride: a colorless or slightly yellow gas with an irritating, pungent odor; also known as hydrochloric acid; irritating and corrosive to the eyes, skin, and mucous membranes; exposure to high concentrations can cause laryngitis, bronchitis, and pulmonary edema, and brief exposures to concentrations in the range of 1,300 to 2,000 ppm are lethal to humans

ammonia: a colorless gas with a very sharp odor; is irritating to the skin, eyes, nose, throat, and lungs; exposure to high concentrations in the air can severely burn the skin, eyes, throat, or lungs and in extreme cases blindness, lung damage, or death can occur

vinyl acetate: a clear, colorless liquid with a sweet, fruity smell that is very flammable; used to make other industrial chemicals


Concepts that Challenged My Thinking

While reading this article, I was absolutely appalled that this is allowed to happen in our country! Putting these harmful chemical plants in rural, low-income areas in our country is definitely an example of the “NIMBY” (not in my backyard!) mindset. I can’t believe that all those chemicals are allowed to be released into rivers, landfills, and the air. Dumping 800,000 gallons of wastewater into a local stream everyday? Do these businessmen have absolutely no conscience? I also found it infuriating that Borden was exempt from Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) regulations. I didn’t even know that was possible! Also, I could hardly stand to read about those poor employees who were given the ultimatum of performing hazardous tasks or losing their job. This is definitely not legal. I thought our nation had moved past such happenings, but I guess I was horribly mistaken.


Additional Resources

In addition to all the harm Borden Chemical inflicted upon its surrounding environment with its appalling emissions of chemical pollutants, they were a company that manufactured PVC – an extremely hazardous product itself. Check out this article by the Center for Health, Environment & Justice for more information!

Welcome to Environmental Edification!

Hi, my name is Hannah and I'm currently taking an Environmental Health class at the University of Minnesota Duluth as I work towards a major in Community Health Education. This blog will be used for posting all assignments for this class, including reviews of environmental readings and documentaries, and exchanging new ideas with my classmates.

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