by Debbie LeAnce
Friday, Jun. 16, 2006 at 9:11 PM
uprising@sbcglobal.net
A. tearing down South Central Farm (14 acre clean air producing sanctuary)
B. replacing this with Warehouses, which bring in Diesel Trucks
C. the single most dangerous community to live in for air pollution cancer risks just got more dangerous
warehouses___diesel_trucks.jpg, image/jpeg, 800x642
Los Angeles currently has a “Failing grade” from the American Lung Association Annual Clean Air Test, which means that at least 3 separate pollutants are exceeding healthy levels within that region.
According the AQMD readings from a 1997 Multiple Air Toxics Exposure Study II , one of the most comprehensive air quality surveys taken on in California, states that South Central Los Angeles is the single most cancer causing area to live in, with particulate matter 2.5 originating predominately from diesel fuels causing over 70 percent of this risk.
The median income for this region in South Central Los Angeles according to 1990 Census data ranged at $25,000 annual combined household income, with an ethnicity breakdown of 96 percent non-white.
Furthermore, thousands of studies have suggested that current federal limits of these particulate matters is too high, and in September 2006 will be reevaluated by the EPA.
In the midst of this saga of dirty air being accumulated largely due to diesel operating vehicles, the city of Los Angeles is allowing the destruction of a 14-acre clean air producing stretch of land to allow increased diesel trucks associated with warehouses into LA’s already non-attainment air quality basin.
Based on my research, the city of Los Angeles is subject to legal retaliation for what is effectively turning into environmental racism, where we have according to EPA Fact Sheet on particulate matter 2.5, elderly and children the biggest at risk for health factors from this increasing pollution in a predominately low-income non-white community.
