Background of the Event
Pollution in College Point, New York happened as a result of landfills. Residential buildings in College Point in Queens, New York have been built on contaminated landfills. This was confirmed by New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and concerned experts want the area tested and cleaned up as reported by The Queen’s Courier in (Mimoni, 2010.
All the dumping happened before the Clean Air Act was passed. The clean air act is a federal law that protects people from air pollution by regulating emissions. This law gave the EPA the power to set air quality standards and to keep in check the toxic air pollution emission. The Act was ratified in 1970 and has since been amended many times.
According to the Queens Tribune, the dumping began as far back as the 1963 and went on up to 1976. The area was actually created out of a landfill (Rutkoff, 2011). Different type of businesses dumped garbage in College Point. There were factories, gas stations, and other businesses (Mimoni, 2010). The responsible parties are the businesses that did the dumping as well as government regulators that had failed to protect the area from irresponsible waste disposal.
A pollution hot spot measuring 10,000 hectares was mapped out after the Department of Environmental Conservation after the soil was found to be contaminated way back in 2007 (Mimoni, 2010). College Point may be a residential area now, but it has in the past been subjected to years and years of illegal dumping (Mimoni, 2010) Rutkoff quotes a marine biologist as saying that there is a high level of contamination with toxic waste. This toxic waste can be easily detected in areas that have not yet been transformed into residential housing but it is also present deep underground in the sites that are already occupied by families. Later on in the ‘70s, Real Estate developers bought the land and began construction, converting the area into residential land, writes Rutkoff.
According to Bai (2007), cities typically rely on the areas around them not only to provide raw materials for production, but also to assimilate waste. Without these two functions, cities cannot function. These processes can be studied from the metabolism approach, meaning that cities ingest raw materials and excrete waste. In the metabolism approach, a city is conceptualized as an organism. Waste, toxic or otherwise, is the byproduct of industrial processes. Cities are industrial areas.
Hazards
Pollutants are normally by products of normal and even positive activities according to Boorse and Wright (2011, pp. 424). This is certainly the case in College Point, New York. Pollution has many effects. In College Point, New York the effect of pollutants on the aesthetics of the area were largely covered up but can be seen during low tide sometimes. However, the potential effects to human health and to the ecosystems are very present. For example, water can flow from the ground streams into the East River polluting the ground. Experts already claim to have seen evidence of pollution on the ground and fear that new residential development could expose people to more pollution by exposing the landfills buried beneath.
The area may not be entirely toxic, but there are ‘hot spots’ where the potential exposure to toxic material is high. These areas have toxic metals; others have oil oozing out while others have volatile organic compounds according to the article in the Tribune.
The site exposes human being to carcinogenic pollutants which can cause terminal illness in humans. Further the pollution can easily spread to the East River nearby affecting fish, animals and birds that rely on that water. The pollutants that are buried beneath the ground could be released by construction activities according to Rutkoff (2011).
The area has since been designated a Superfund site and this has allowed authorities to conduct extensive testing to assess the level of risk (Mimoni, 2010). The contractor protected homes by diverting the flow of oily goo that was contaminated with hazardous substances. That oil may now leak into other areas and this means that the risks are still there (Mimoni, 2010). Many long term residents also believe that there is yet another oil barge that is likely to be contaminated (Mimoni, 2010).
Since the place has been earmarked for more residential development, there is great risk to the future residents unless the construction follows very strict guidelines to ensure that the toxic waste material does not leak. Since these clean up measures will likely cost millions, they most likely will not be done unless the government puts pressure on the developers.
Sociological Interest
According to Boorse and Wright, (2011) pp. 584, environmental hazards normally affect the people who are most vulnerable – that is those who lack financial clout. It is noteworthy that College Point is located in Queens and not Manhattan. To illustrate this point, the largest commercial hazardous waste landfill in America is located in Emelle, Alabama – an area mostly populated by African Americans who form 90% of the local population. In addition, urban areas experience unique environmental challenges including higher temperatures, according to Christopherson (2009, pp. 109).
Recommendations
A blog, queenscrap.blogspot.com has been formed to protest the ‘overdevelopment’ of Queens. Residents of College Point anticipate even more problems with waste, since authorities have authorized construction of a garbage transfer facility (Hall, 2011). According to Hall, this will pose a danger to air traffic since garbage is very attractive to birds. The site would be very close to a LaGuardia Airport.
Authorities should take seriously the concerns of the residents of College Point, New York. An extensive testing and scientific assessment of the area is very necessary to get a more accurate idea of the damage.
Authorities should be very keen on ensuring that businesses – for example the building and construction companies putting up housing – satisfy the environmental requirements before they begin construction. There should be impermeable barriers constructed to ensure that the toxic material does not leak out. This construction will cost a lot of money hence the need for authorities to be vigilant.
The site is located near a water source, and therefore poses a great threat to the environment as it could pollute the East River. Residents have for that reason called for extensive testing. Locations of landfills have to be carefully thought out and planned and there have to be clear legislation to ensure that real estate developers put up homes that are safe to live in.
Issues of production, consumption and disposal arise in this case. All the toxic material in the landfill was likely a by-product of some form of commercial production. Processes of production of goods need to be looked into to ensure that they do not create excess, unnecessary toxic material. The disposal and consumption of products also needs to be looked into. Are there products that when used create excess, unnecessary harmful waste? What processes are used to establish what areas are best for disposing of garbage? Who are involved in that decision? It is highly likely that the LaGuardia airport authorities would not approve of the creation of a site for garbage which can jeopardize the lives of air travelers. Finally the management of landfills needs to be looked into. Why are landfills such as the one in College Point ‘forgotten’ after some time by authorities?
These considerations are very crucial. Area residents also need to continue being vigilant in expressing their views through advocacy. They can use different ways of raising awareness on the issue and even seeking legal redress to ensure that their neighborhood is safe.
Works Cited
Bai, Xumei. Industrial Ecology and the Global Impacts of Cities. Journal of Industrial Ecology. Vol 11. No. 2. (2007): 1-6
Boorse, Dorothy F. and Richard T Wright. Environmental Science: Towards a Sustainable Future. 11th Ed. New Jersey: Pearson Prentice Hall, 2011
Christopherson, Robert W. Geosystems: An Introduction to Physical Geography. 7th Ed. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2009.
Hall, James E. No Trash, No Crash. The New York Times, New York. June 27th 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/06/28/opinion/28hall.html?_r=1
Mimoni, Victor. Toxic Sites Found – Experts want College Point Tested. The Queen’s Courier, New York. 30th June 2010. Retrieved from: http://www.indypressny.org/nycma/voices/431/briefs/briefs_1/
Rutkoff, Aaron. “What Lies Beneath: Scientist Says Homes May be Built on Dirty Soil.” The Queens Tribune Online. 21st January, 2011.
