THE HIGH COST OF FREE TRADE: IMPORTING POLLUTION AT THE EXPENSE OF BUFFALOS KATHLEEN R.

POOR MECCA
NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE CONFERENCE APRIL 3, 2013

Buffalos West Side Neighborhood

A Community of Environmental Justice

Buffalos West Side Neighborhood

69.2% Minority Population 46.3% Poverty Rate 72.4% Households with Children Receiving Cash Public Assistance, Food Stamps, or Social Security for a Child 32.8% Children Under Age 18 29.9% Adults Without a High School Diploma 82.2% Adults Without a College Degree 31.9% Unemployment Rate

2010 Census Data, U.S. Census Bureau

Peace Bridge International Border Crossing

Air Quality & Health Concerns

Air Quality & Health Concerns

In the West Side

The asthma rate is 4 times the national average 45% of households report at least one case of chronic asthma or respiratory disease 22,000 residents have been diagnosed with chronic respiratory disease in the last 10 years The annual cost of asthma treatment is $110 million A majority of patients are low-income residents,

Prevailing Winds

Southwesterly winds off of Lake Erie

Prevailing Winds

Air Quality & Health Concerns

Chemical Compounds Found in Diesel Exhaust

Acenaphthene Acenaphthylene Acetaldehyde Acrolein Aniline o-Anisaldehyde Anthracene Antimony Compounds Arsenic Benz[a]anthracene Benzene Benzo[b]fluoranthene Benzo[k]fluoranthen e Benzo[ghi]perylene Benzo[a]pyrene Benzo[e]pyrene 2,3-Benzofuran Beryllium

Biphenyl Bis(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate 1,3-Butadiene Cadmium Carbon Dioxide Carbon Monoxide Chlorine Chlorobenzene Chromium Compounds Cobalt Compounds Coumarin Cresol Isomers Crysene Cyanide Compounds Dibenz[a,h]anthracene Dibutyl Phthalate 1,8-Dinitropyrene Dioxins

Ethyl Benzene Formaldehyde Fluoranthene Fluorene 4-Hydroxycoumarin mHydroxyacetophenone Indeno[1,2,3cd]pyrene Inorganic Lead Manganese Compounds Menadione 6-Methoxytetralone 6-Methylcoumarin 3-Methyl-2cyclopentene-2-ol-one Mercury Compounds Methanol Methyl Ethyl Ketone

Nickel 3-Nitrobenzanthrone 4-Nitrobiphenyl Nitric Monoxide Nitrogen Dioxide Phenanthrene Phenol Phosphorus Polycyclic Organic Matter Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons Propionaldehyde Pyrene Selenium Compounds Styrene Sulfur Dioxide Trimethylbenzene Toluene

Air Quality & Health Concerns

Diesel exhaust contains Ultrafine Particulate Matter that are less than 1/1000th the thickness of a human hair Inhaled particles enter the blood stream and are Asthma Impaired Growth in known to cause many chronic andLung sometimes Children Birth Defects fatal illnesses :

Cancer: Lung, Bronchus, &

Others Cerebral Stroke Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) Congestive Heart Failure Heart Attack Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis

Leukemia Male Infertility Neurological Disorders Respiratory Infection Sarcoidosis Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Thyroid Disease Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Air Quality & Health Concerns

Long-term

exposure to diesel exhaust particles poses the highest cancer risk of any toxic air contaminant California Environmental Protection Agency processing of commercial trucks at the Peace Bridge represents a human research project because it involves increasing and open-ended exposure of pregnant women, children, and adults to inhaled truck diesel particulates.

Continued

Peace Bridge

The Public Bridge Authoritys Solution

The Public Bridge Authoritys Solution

Institute a no idling policy for commercial trucks

Unfortunately, re-starting a truck results in a partial burn of fuel, causing an exhaust plume many times more harmful than exhaust from an idling truck

Increase bridge capacity to reduce congestion

Unfortunately, more capacity means more trucks

The Public Bridge Authoritys Solution

We need more inspection booths, because we anticipate more traffic, not less. U.S. Rep. Brian Higgins The easier the flow, the more trucks come here. And its going to mean less pollution. U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer

The Public Bridge Authoritys Solution

Were going to send a message [that] youre not entering a ghetto when you cross into the great city of Buffalo.... We are going to have a beautiful, landscaped buffer between the plaza and the neighborhood in the short term.

Sam Hoyt, Chairman of the Public Bridge Authority as demolition crews tore down eight West Side homes on February 23, 2013

Our Future? Concrete Entombment

Placing Profit Over Quality of Life on Buffalos West
Insert higher resolution photo

The Communitys Solution

The Communitys Solution

There are many equitable solutions; one example: Divert commercial truck traffic to the nearby Lewiston-Queenston Bridge

Lewiston-Queenston Bridge can be renovated to accommodate all truck traffic Geology, wind patterns, and land use at Lewiston- Queenston Bridge site make it ideal for truck traffic Peace Bridge becomes a passenger-vehicle-only

Lewiston-Queenston Bridge

Niagara Gorge (250 ft. elevation)

Truck Depot

Please help us get the word out!

Online: MoveThePlaza.com Email: krmecca@yahoo.com Facebook: Homes Near the Peace Bridge YouTube: Living in the Shadow of the Bridge

Thank you! Kathy