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!

Share and Voice: "Blog On!" Blog Award

Hey everyone!
I recently received the "Blog On!" blog award from Dr. V. for my "Share and Voice: A Healthy Vegetarian Diet" post. Thanks again Dr. V!

I would now like to pass this blog award on to... Samantha, for her "Share and Voice: SMOKING!!" post! I thought this post was awesome because it gave us all a new perspective on the negative affects of smoking! Although I've always been against smoking, I had never really stopped to consider what smoking does to our environment, so thank you for this enlightening post!

Award Instructions

1. Leave a comment below so that I know you "picked up" the award.
   
2. Create a Share and Voice post that says you've received the award and indicate who the award is from (be sure to hyperlink).
3. Also indicate to whom you are going to pass on the award and why. Be sure to hyperlink the blogger (use main blog URL) and the blog title (use the specific URL for that blog post).
4. Copy and paste these instructions at the bottom of your post.
5. Publish the post.
6. Visit each blogger you've awarded and leave a comment telling them they've won.
7. Continue the process...

Reflection: Weeks 5 & 6

Reading 15: Feeding the World
I thought this was a good article, and our class had a nice discussion about it. Personally, I was surprised to learn that we are currently ahead in food production v. demand. I had assumed the situation was the other way around, what with the millions of people in the world who are starving, so this was a new concept for me to ponder. Also, the population projections were interesting, and I’m curious to see how birth rates of populations will rise or fall in the future.

Diet for a New America
We spent two days of class watching this documentary, and although it was slightly dated, I thought it was very impressive. The visuals of how much fat many Americans have in their diet – such as the disturbing string of fat a surgeon pulled out of someone’s blood vessel – were quite effective. Also, another fact that stuck with me was how much manure is produced by farm animals! The piles and piles of manure made me realize how much these animals contribute to air and water pollution. I also realized how our food choices affect our water supply. All in all, I was previously oblivious to how many resources are sucked up to provide meat for the average American diet!

Eye Opener: CSPI
I took an online tour of our food supply created by Center for Science in the Public Interest. This was absolutely shocking! I couldn’t believe all the unpleasant facts that were given, especially about some factory farm animals being fed things such as garbage and newspapers. I’m pretty sure I don’t want these things being consumed by my food because they can pass into my body as well!

Reading 21: The Weather Turns Wild
This was the reading I was assigned to for our other eye opener activity. It was pretty gloomy, listing many of the expected consequences of global warming. The part that struck me the most was the section about environmental refugees. When people are forced to leave their homes because of flooding or drought, where will they go? Who will be responsible for helping them get back on their feet? Will any sort of aid be available?

The Future of Food
Another two days of class were spent watching this documentary, and the conclusion I came to was that the agriculture industry of the United States is NOT headed in the right direction, at least for the most part. I feel that people are starting to opt more for organic foods and lobby against GMOs (genetically modified organisms) and support local agriculture now, but we still have a long way to go. I think it is sad, and a little scary, how the science of farming has changed. More and more pesticides and insecticides are used nowadays to kill resistant weeds, biodiversity among crops has been lost, and genetically modified crops have opened a whole new can of worms. A patent on life? Whose idea was this? And to what lengths will it be taken? Personally, I don’t really want to wait around to find out.

The concept of cross-contamination between fields – the ability for GMOs to sneak undetected into other fields - is very disturbing. I thought the stories of the farmers who had lawsuits filed against them by Monsanto were heart-wrenching. Yes, I realize they were biased, but in the community I grew up in, a lot of my friends and even a few family members owned farms so naturally I want to side with the small farmers. Also, as a future health educator, I think it’s ridiculous that food containing GMOs does not have to be labeled! This means there is no traceability to health effects such as allergic reactions, or even more severe problems that could result. Other countries, such as Japan, that have banned GMOs are even watching our population for signs of adverse health effects of this technology.

Oh, and another thing: I am horrified by the thought of terminator crops that do not allow for reseeding! Maybe I’m not considering the other side of the story, but why would anyone do this?!


These past two weeks have really caught my attention because I am quite interested in how my diet effects the environment. I love to cook, and just love food in general so this is a topic that is important to me. I knew that livestock take up a lot of space, eat a lot of crops, and produce a lot of waste, but I had never really put two and two together and considered the large toll that eating meat and dairy products takes on our environment. I have recently been more conscious about my consumption of animal products, which for me is mainly in various dairy foods. All my life, the importance of eating dairy foods was ingrained into my brain. I thought, is it even healthy to reduce the amount of these foods in my diet? After doing some research on vegetarian/vegan diets, I found alternative food sources of the important vitamins and minerals that are in milk, eggs, cheese, and yogurt. I plan on making some small changes, but nothing too drastic right now. This week I bought soy milk instead of cow milk, and my next step will be to buy eggs from free-range chickens instead of just grabbing whichever carton is on sale.

This class continues to get more and more interesting everyday, and although I now often feel guilty about my lifestyle, and worry about where our world is headed, I am trying to be optimistic about the future and contribute to positive change.

(Picture taken by me on May 1st, 2008, near Stratford-upon-Avon, England.)

Share and Voice: A Healthy Vegetarian Diet

All the discussions we’ve been having about how our food choices impact the environment have gotten me thinking. It seems a lot of us – myself included – were raised to believe that having animal products in our diet is a necessity! Personally, my level of meat consumption is low, but I do consume a large amount of dairy products. Because of the new knowledge I have gained from some of our readings and documentaries, I thought it would be interesting to try to cut back a little now that I know the toll these livestock take on the earth.

Animal products provide a variety of nutrients that our body needs, but cutting back on them doesn’t mean missing out on proper nutrition! In order to make sure we are still giving our body the proper nutrition it deserves, I found some facts about how to get these key nutrients from non-animal sources:


Protein
Function: maintain healthy skin, bones, muscles, and organs
Sources: soy products, legumes, lentils, nuts, seeds, mushrooms, and whole grains

Calcium
Function: build and maintain strong teeth and bones
Sources: spinach, turnip and collard greens, kale, broccoli, and almonds. Also, tofu, soy milk, and fruit juices may be calcium-fortified.

Vitamin B-12
Function: production of red blood cells
Sources: enriched cereals and fortified soy products, and dietary supplements

Iron
Function: component of red blood cells
Sources: dried beans and peas, lentils, enriched cereals, whole-grains, dark leafy green vegetables (collard greens, spinach, kale), dried fruit. In order to efficiently absorb iron from these foods, eat vitamin C-rich foods (strawberries, citrus fruits, tomatoes, cabbage, broccoli) at the same time.

Zinc
Function: enzyme component, role in cell division and formation of proteins
Sources: whole grains, soy products, nuts, wheat germ, white beans, kidney beans, chickpeas

Reducing consumption of animal products doesn’t mean having to give up favorite foods!

• Being Minnesotans, I’m sure we all love our occasional hotdish, right? Try putting a new spin on that old recipe by substituting tofu, tempeh, or even some beans instead of the ground beef.

• Love that bowl of cereal in the morning? I know I do! Try substituting soy milk for cow’s milk.

• Worried about missing out on summer grill-outs? Throw a veggie burger on the grill instead, your friends might not even notice the difference. :)

• Used to chicken or pork in your stir-fry? Switch in some cashews instead!

For anyone who thinks a meatless diet is boring and bland, check out these delicious meatless recipes! Yum!

Another fun way to branch out is try to try different ethnic dishes that use grains and vegetables as the main ingredients.

Obviously, I'm not trying to persuade anyone to be a vegetarian - I don't consider myself to be one - but we've all been learning about the huge reduction in resources that would occur if Americans cut back on animal products in our diet. I hope this information was useful for anyone who is attempting to make some dietary changes!

After all, variety is the spice of life!

(Some nutritional information and the food pyramid image was gathered from the Mayo Clinic website.)

Eye Opener: Summary of Reading 21: The Weather Turns Wild

Article Summary
This article was written in February 2001, right after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) met in Shanghai and released the report stating global warming is both real and man-made. Considering this, I found the article to be a little dated, but I believe the concerns about global warming that are focused on in the article are still major concerns of today.

The main focus of this article is that as global warming takes its toll on the earth, incidences of bizarre weather could become more common, inflicting increasingly severe consequences on victims. All countries would be affected in some way, whether through flooding that destroys buildings, reduces land area, and contaminates water; the spread of disease; or loss of crops due to heat and lack of water.

Natural disasters already take a huge financial toll and societies, and this would only crease as weather becomes more violent and unpredictable. According to key climate scientists, major points of concern include:

• Death and pestilence

• Wildfires

• Rising sea levels

• Water wars

• Refugees

Although it may be too late to avoid all impacts of climate change, actions can be taken to keep conditions from worsening even farther. Of course, two major steps are conserving energy and using cleaner energy sources such as wind instead of oil and coal. Fortunately, such efforts are being made: some Western European countries have levied taxes on carbon emissions or fossil fuels, and corporations such as DuPont and BP Amoco have reduced greenhouse-gas emissions and invested in renewable energy sources. Preventative measures against destructive weather are also being taken. For example, the Netherlands is strengthening its sea defenses to contend with rising ocean levels. Societies around the world must adapt to changing conditions and learn to live in new settings that may arise.

Different Viewpoints
Of course, not everyone believes that global warming and its anticipated consequences are truly a problem. Here are some additional sources with other viewpoints on this issue:

The opinion of the Heartland Institute is that “global warming is not a crisis.” They feel that a majority of the U.S. scientific community does not agree that global warming is linked to human activity or that it causes increased hurricane activity, and therefore is not a crisis.

This article on the Skeptics Global Warming website discusses how there is no real link between global temperatures and the frequency or intensity of hurricanes.

A Question to Ponder
As a citizen of the Midwest region of the United States, which effects of increased severe weather do you think would directly impact you the most?


(Photo of flooding in Worcester, England. Taken by me on Jan. 12, 2008.)

Eye Opener: CSPI

For this eye opener, I decided to take a tour of our food supply. Here's what I found out...

Shocking Statistics

• Growing grain for beef and dairy cattle requires a total of 8.5 BILLION POUNDS of fertilizer per year.

• Livestock manure releases many dangerous gases such as methane, ammonia, and nitrous oxide, and hydrogen sulfide. In fact, the methane released from livestock and their manure is equivalent in environmental destruction to the annual release of carbon dioxide from about 33 million automobiles. Talk about air pollution!

• Healthy farm animals are routinely fed antibiotics to promote healthy growth and balance out filthy living conditions. Personally, I am very wary of our overuse of antibiotics because it can lead to resistant strains. This really scares me! European nations have begun to move away from the use of administering antibiotics in healthy animals, but the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has done nothing of the sort.

• Small amounts of 21 different antibiotics were found in one survey of streams and rivers throughout the United States. In rural areas, those antibiotics are probably coming from factory farms.

• Livestock of all varieties are often forced to live in over crowded conditions, left to live in their own manure. Do you want to eat anything that was living in a pile of poop?

• Slaughterhouse workers have an injury rate three times higher than that of the average factory worker.

• Factory farms feed animals everything from industrial sludge to discarded restaurant oil to ground-up newspapers. This is extremely disturbing, considering these toxins and carcinogenic agents are then passed into humans who consume these animal products.

• The water used to irrigate just alfalfa – 4.7 trillion gallons per year – exceeds the irrigation needs of all the vegetables, berries, and fruit orchards combined!

• It takes about 18,000 gallons of rain and irrigation water to produce one pound of beef.

• The average American consumes about 11 more pounds of red meat, 54 more pounds of poultry, 5 more pounds of fish and shellfish, and 24 more pounds of cheese per year than he or she did in the early 1950s.

• Livestock manure is often the source of disease-causing bacteria on fruits and vegetables. Gross!

• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that contaminated food causes about 76 million illnesses, 325,000 hospitalizations, and 5,000 deaths each year.

• The overall cost of diet-related diseases is about $90 billion annually.

My Thoughts

Those are just a few of the new facts I learned. The more I read, the more I just felt sick to my stomach. How are factory farms allowed to operate like this? I mean, yes, I had heard horror stories, but for some reason I chose to believe that was the exception rather than the norm. Now I am not so sure...

In the last couple of years, I have greatly reduced the amount of meat in my diet, but I do still eat a lot of dairy products. From now on I will definitely think twice about the foods I am purchasing and eating. I had no idea how many resources it took to raise these animals! And all the pollution from the livestock? It's almost too much to process at one time.

The thing I find most frustrating about trying to change my diet is that some people just don't understand, and they consider others to be "food snobs" if they don't want to eat certain foods. For instance, my family would be very upset if I refused to eat what they were having for dinner the next time I visit them. I feel that since food is such a huge part of culture, it can be a very touchy subject and a difficult habit to change. I think the best way to go about it is to just take small steps and try to educate people about these issues without offending them.

Share and Voice: Schoolhouse Rock

Okay, so this post was inspired by Kathy's awesome Share and Voice with the Sesame Street video clip. It got me thinking about which cartoons or shows from my childhood had the the catchiest songs that have stuck with me for years, and I realized that a favorite series of mine has always been Schoolhouse Rock! I adore Schoolhouse Rock, and those cartoons helped me memorize everything from multiplication tables to the Preamble to the United States Constitution. In fact, my siblings and I used to rent the complete set from the library just so we could sing along and drive our parents crazy!
Anyway, I was wondering if they ever had songs that talked about the environment, and I couldn't think of any. Slightly disappointed, I searched around online for awhile, and then I came across an exciting discovery! The creators of Schoolhouse Rock have come up with 13 new songs specifically about our environment, and the DVD comes out on March 31st!

If there are any other Schoolhouse Rock fans out there, you should definitely check out Schoolhouse Rock! Earth. This website even lets you see clips of some of the songs. Personally, I really like "Caron Sasquatch" and "The Little Things We Do". (Does anyone remember Mr. Morton from the subject and predicate song? He's in this one, too!)
Enjoy!