Environmental Justice
Status
Most of the serious environmental threats in our nation affect the poor and minorities first and most dramatically. Hazardous waste sites, called "brownfields" or "Superfund sites," are much more likely to occur in underprivileged communities (such as in the inner city) than in the suburbs, where the (more wealthy, usually better organized) community can organize more easily to protect itself. The poor and minorities in our nation and in developing nations are also the most threatened by environmental disasters such as floods and heat waves, which are the result of global warming. For this reason, caring for the environment has become a profoundly moral issue among our people and most religious people. We are working not only to protect the planet, but the poor who are already underprivileged in so many ways, from environmental disaster.
Legislative Summary
Nuclear Waste
Nuclear waste is one of the most important environmental justice issues we consider. Over the past 20 years, the nation has struggled to find a solution to the problem of nuclear waste, waste that will remain radioactive and deadly for hundreds of thousands of years. Neither the federal government nor the industry has ever developed a coherent, scientifically-validated, equitable policy to manage these wastes. Instead, the Department of Energy (DOE) and Congress, pushed bythe nuclear industry, have opted for an uncoordinated, politically-driven approach to waste management; needlessly wasting hundreds of millions of dollars and complicating efforts to create a sound strategy.
Radioactive waste classification in the U.S. is dangerously misleading and needs immediate reassessment. Unlike other kinds of hazardous waste, the classifications of nuclear waste are not based on risk or level of hazard, but on content. The regulatory definition of "high-level waste" includes only spent nuclear fuel rods and the liquid and sludge from the reprocessing of nuclear fuel. Everything other kind of nuclear waste, even though it might be as (or more) intensely radioactive and deadly as "high-level," is still regulated separately as "low-level." This allows for it to be transported and dumped without complying with the same environmental restrictions as "high-level" waste.
Currently, "Low-level" nuclear waste is transported all over the country with no public oversight or knowledge. This nuclear waste is dumped in steel drums, cardboard boxes and plastic bags in shallow unlined trenches, often on land that is sacred to the Native Peoples of the areas. Out of the five original commercial "low-level" dumps, three sites have been closed due to contamination of ground water with radioactive materials. Yet the nuclear industry still says these dumps are safe and plan to build more.
The largest "low-level" dump in the country is located on the Nevada Test Site. This dump only accepts waste from the 18 DOE nuclear weapons facilities scattered throughout the country. Over one thousand shipments pass through Las Vegas every year and are dumped in unlined trenches, 100 feet wide, 1000 feet long, and only 20 feet deep, dangerously close to the groundwater level, threatening the largest underground aquifer in Southern Nevada.
TheNuclear Waste Policy Amendmendments Act of 1999 (S. 1287) passed both the Senate and House last year. However, President Clinton vetoed the bill. This bill would have moved nuclear waste from power plants across the country to the Yucca Mountain and lowered current radiation protection standards in order to make this possible. It would have also curtailed many environmental health and safety laws; quadrupled allowable radiation standards for waste storage; and required the transportation of nuclear waste throughout the country to an unsuitable site, unnecessarily endangering the health of millions of people who live along transportation routes .
Another significant legislative battle took place in 1998. The Texas/Maine/Vermont Nuclear Waste Compact (S. 270 ) would have created a nuclear waste dump in Sierra Blanca, TX, a predominantly Hispanic community. Unfortunately, this bill passed both the House and Senate, and President Clinton signed it into law on September 20, 1998. The environmental justice issues raised by this law, which seems to clearly discriminate against the Hispanic community, led to a Civil Rights complaint under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act and a lot of serious activism, of which the RAC was a part in. Fortunately, the environmental justice and civil rights complaints against the facility rose to such a pitch that the community itself became involved and organized against the dump. As a result, the Governor of Texas denied the license to the companies wanting to build the dump, given an earthquake fault located directly under the site. This was the first time that a local politician directed a site not to be licensed, so it was a major victory, However, the companies are still looking to build a site in Western Texas or in New Mexico.
Yucca Mountain
For over 10 years, Yucca Mountain has been the only area studied by the DOE for the permanent dumping of high-level nuclear waste. Sacred to the Western Shoshone, a Native American tribe who are Nevada's traditional stewards, Yucca Mountain is riddled with 30 earthquake faults. Since 1976, there have been 621 "seismic events" greater than 2.5 magnitude (sizable earthquakes) within a 50 mile radius of the site. The DOE's own studies have shown that water flow through Yucca Mountain is very rapid (moving at a pace of a few hundred to a thousand years). Water is the main pathway by which the waste can move through the mountain and out to the environment. Since this waste will remain radioactive and dangerous for 240,000 years, water movement over less than a thousand years is not nearly sufficient to protect the earth and its inhabitants in the area. The recent discovery of radioactive contamination from above ground nuclear tests, found more than 500 feet below the surface, is more evidence that the site will not be able to meet the environmental guidelines. As a result of these and other problems, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission is rewriting its guidelines and standards regarding nuclear waste. The EPA has drafted other, more stringent standards, which have been halted in the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). As the site continues to fail to meet current guidelines, the guidelines are being changed to fit the Yucca Mountain site. Since the likelihood of Yucca Mountain being found scientifically suitable is growing dim, the nuclear industry is taking another route. They want Congress to build a interim facility on the nearby Nevada Test Site where a 4.2 earthquake recently shook the surface. This interim dump would be licensed for 100 years.
Superfund
In thousands of communities across the U.S., millions of gallons of highly toxic chemicals including lead, arsenic, and mercury have been dumped in the midst of unsuspecting neighborhoods. These sites poison the land, contaminate the groundwater and drinking water, and potentially cause cancer, birth defects, nerve and liver damage, and other health effects. The worst of these are called Superfund sites, named after the 1980 law to clean up the nation's worst toxic dumps. Consider:
- More than 40,000 hazardous waste sites are scattered across the nation: 1,200 of the worst sites are listed as Superfund sites, and the EPA estimates that between 1,200 and 1,700 additional sites should be added to this priority list.
- One in four Americans live within four miles of an existing Superfund site.
- 50% of the U.S. population relies on groundwater for its drinking water. Groundwater contamination is a problem at over 85% of Superfund sites.
- A California study found that children born to mothers living within a quarter-mile of a Superfund site had a higher risk of birth defects and neurological problems.
Common Superfund chemicals and their health effects include:
- LEAD: Lead causes health effects even at low exposure. It can cause brain damage, and damage to the reproductive system. For infants or young children, lead has been shown to decrease IQ stores, slow growth, and cause hearing problems.
- BENZENE: Long-term exposure to benzene can cause cancer, severe anemia and internal bleeding. It can also be harmful to the immune system and cause genetic changes in both humans and animals.
- MERCURY: Long-term exposure at various levels can cause permanent damage to the brain and kidneys. It also poses a risk of brain damage to developing fetuses.
- ARSENIC: High levels of arsenic can be fatal. Low level exposure can cause decreased production of red and white blood cells and abnormal heart rhythm. Arsenic is a known carcinogen that increases the risk of lung, kidney, liver, and skin cancers.
In 1980, in response to disasters like the toxic contamination of neighborhoods at Love Canal, NY, the Superfund law was passed. The central principle of the law is that polluters &3151; those responsible for creating the waste sites — should pay to clean up the sites. In cases where the polluter cannot pay or could not be identified, the law established a pool of money, from a tax on chemical and oil companies, to fund the clean up of abandoned toxic waste sites. The law set strict clean up standards to ensure that hazardous waste sites were cleaned up fully to protect communities. Superfund also required reporting on toxic chemical emissions, the first national Right to Know program.
There are a number of bills currently before Congress (including H.R. 1300, H.R. 2850, and S. 1090) that would severely rollback protections provided by the Superfund law. There is also one narrow brownfields bill (H.R. 1750) that would modify Superfund law only slightly and in a way that would promote the redevelopment of brownfields.
Position of the Reform Jewish Movement
The URJ passed a resolution in 1991 resolution calling upon the government to "ensure the protection of animal and plant species" and "ensure the protection of our water and air environments and resources." In the resolution, the URJ recognizes that "environmental hazards disproportionately affect poor and minority communities and that insofar as our society continues to bear environmental risks" and resolves to "work to ensure that the economic and health costs of the risks do not disproportionately fall upon these communities."
Environmental Justice and Jewish Values
As Reform Jews, our concern for environmental justice is clearly derived from our deep concern for justice, civil rights, and a clean environment. Our tradition has always championed equal protection under the law, regardless of one's economic status or racial background. As the Torah teaches, "do not subvert the rights of your needy" (Exodus 23:6); "do not favor the poor or show deference to the rich" (Leviticus 19:15). This is because all humans are created b'tzelem Elohim, and, since we are all equally God's children, we should all equitably share in the bounty — and travails — of the earth. Some other texts that support our environmental justice efforts include:
- "The human being was placed in the Garden of Eden to till it and to tend it."
— Genesis 2:15 - "You shall not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor."
— Leviticus 19:16 - "The land must not be sold beyond reclaim, for the land is Mine;
you are but strangers resident with Me."
— Leviticus 25:23 - "Therefore choose life, that you and your descendants may live."
— Dueteronomy 30:20 - "The advantage of land is paramount; even a king is subject to the soil."
— Ecclesiastes 5:8
Publications
For More Information
To learn more, contact RAC Legislative Assistant Rachel Cohen, or visit the following websites:
Last updated July 24, 2000
