It has been known for several decades that various industrial enterprises on the coast of Georgia had left a residue of contaminated soils and wetlands. But that the residues continue to be absorbed by the human population, as well, is not readily apparent because some people just get overlooked.
The income stream from remediation gets more attention because that keeps a small army of "experts" in a job. At present, their focus is on extracting some more dollars from the Honeywell corporation, whose executives made an unfortunate decision to acquire some waste lands on the cheap. A pro-forma public hearing to review the most recent "plans" left all the attendees largely unsatisfied.
From a white paper:
EPA’s “Whites Only” Policy at the LCP Chemicals Superfund Site in Brunswick Georgia and Implications to the Health and Welfare of the Community of Color
The US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has a long history of being protective, proactive, and collecting data about the white population in Glynn County, while being resistant to any efforts to be protective of people of color. The recently released Proposed Plan for the LCP Chemicals Superfund Site is yet another shameful chapter in this long legacy of justice denied for people of color in Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia.
The recently released Proposed Plan for the LCP Chemicals Superfund Site is based upon “Whites Only” data. A division of the Center for Disease Control, called the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, made clear and unambiguous warnings about using the “Whites Only” data to develop protective standards and was clear about why it did not protect African Americans in Brunswick, Georgia.
As Dr. David Allard has stated:
“…it should be noted that African-Americans made up only 4% (9 out of 211) of the people who participated in the study. African-Americans make up 26% of the population of Glynn County and nearly 40% of the population within four miles of the LCP Chemicals Site. Therefore, African-Americans are underrepresented in the Brunswick fish study.
A study of fishers along the Savannah River showed that African-Americans
• Eat more fish meals per month than whites (average, 5.4 vs. 2.9),
• Eat slightly larger portions than whites (average, 13.7 oz. vs. 13.1), and
• Eat higher amounts of fish per month than whites (average, 75 ounces vs.41 ounces).
It is reasonable to assume that the fish-eating habits of African-Americans in Brunswick, Georgia, are similar to African-Americans along the Savannah River. Therefore, African-Americans who fish along the Turtle River are likely to have higher exposure to mercury from eating fish than whites. The results of the Brunswick fish study should not be applied to African-Americans in the Brunswick area for those reasons.”
But in spite of this clear warning about using the 1999 seafood study, the EPA has presented the Brunswick Georgia community with a Proposed Plan for the LCP Superfund Site marsh based upon risk assumptions from “Whites Only” data. The “Whites Only” data forms the foundation of many of the reports studying risk from eating seafood and wild game, and current seafood advisories by the State of Georgia.
Page 18 of the Draft Feasibility Study (June 2014) uses the “Whites Only” data: - High quantity fish consumer – consumes more locally-caught fish than the typical recreational angler (e.g., 40 meals per year for 30 years for adults) (DHHS 1999). Similarly, this is based on the very conservative assumption that all fish consumption occurs at the Site.
Public Health Assessment, April 2014, Summary Page iv - A 1999 report about the consumption of seafood and wild game contaminated with mercury to evaluate self-reported symptoms and illnesses for persons who ate locally caught seafood. The report also assesses person’s exposure to mercury and provided information that was used to develop recommendations for a seafood consumption advisory.
Page 13 - Human Health Baseline Risk Assessment, Rev. 4, Brunswick, GA Marsh Trespasser, Fish and Shellfish Consumer, Clapper Rail Consumer, Fish Consumption Exposure Assumptions and Exposure Model, August 2011 -
For the fish consumption risk assessment, both RME (Reasonable Maximum Exposure) and CTE (Central Tendency Exposure) exposure assumptions (Table 10) were developed from USEPA (1997a) and other sources (DHHS, 1999; Appendix B). The goal in providing both RME and CTE risk estimate is to inform the risk decision makers about the potential range of risks associated with the site (USEPA, 1992; 2000).
Also - In 1998, the ATSDR and GCHD conducted a survey to assess consumption of locally harvested seafood and mercury intake (DHHS, 1999). Because this study included two self-identified "subsistence" fishers, this dataset was used as a basis for the fish ingestion rates for the hypothetical high quantity fish consumer receptor.
Over and over, the EPA has injected the “Whites Only’ data into the risk reduction calculations, corrupted the studies and reports, and by doing so has put the community of color at risk. Long history of the EPA using this fatally flawed 1999 date and corresponding history of the EPA injustice to our community forms a consistent pattern of distain for the community of color.
The history of the EPA ignoring risk to the community of color in Brunswick Georgia is shameful. Well sampling was conducted on Blythe Island, a primarily white area, while the wells adjacent to the LCP Site were not tested, and have not been tested to this day. In 2003, the Arco community had to fight to get their yards tested for the poisons from the LCP Superfund Site. In 2005, the community came together to sample the Arco Quarry, a popular fishing locating. The EPA had refused to test this local fishing area next to the LCP Site use by people of color. The data was used for a Health Consultation by the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry. (ATSDR. February 4, 2008)
The EPA’s failure to take action over the past 20 years the serious risk from eating the local seafood has been known is notable. To this day, simple protective recommendations have not been implemented.
In 1994, the following recommendations were made by the Agency for Toxic Substance and Disease Registry:
1. Raise awareness about the fishing advisory among residents and health care providers.
2. Improve the fishing advisory signs so that they are more easily seen.
3. Maintain the fishing advisory until the source of contamination is removed.
In 2014, the recommendations have not been followed and those still consuming the grossly contaminated seafood remain at risk.
The EPA must immediately stop their “Whites Only” policy in Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia.
References:
ATSDR August 22, 1994. Health Consultation, LCP Chemical, Brunswick, Georgia U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES PUBLIC HEALTH SERVICE Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division of Health Assessment and consultation Atlanta, Georgia
ATSDR. February 4, 2008 - Arco Quarry Fish Tissue Sampling - Health Consultation
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/...
DHHS. 1999. Final Report: Consumption of Seafood and Wild Game Contaminated with Mercury, Brunswick, Glynn County, Georgia, United States Department of Health and Human Services. July. (July 1999 - Consumption of Seafood and Wildgame Contaminated With Mercury - Final Report)
http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/...
And the beat goes on. While residents of Sapelo Island, somewhat to the north of Brunswick, have been tested for the presence of PCBs and their tests, like those of the dolphins, came back positive, the Centers for Disease Control have ignored a freedom of information request for the data, filed last October, and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry Division hasn't responded, either. Since the methods and results are necessary to replicate a study on the larger Brunswick population, it is hard not to conclude that an effort to keep African Americans from being sampled in Brunswick is underway.
I just want to add that, given the Conservative fondness for "teaching a man to fish," permitting the persistence of contamination in fish and wildlife is downright vile. It used to strike me as simply hypocritical, considering the world-wide depletion of our fish and crustacean populations. But, advising people to eat poisoned fish is evil.
This observation is not meant to dismiss the fact that simply telling people the fish are poisoned is not an adequate response to the matter. The only positive aspect to well-publicized advisories is that they would prompt outrage from a larger, more significant population. Much as outrage over the persistently high levels of coliform bacteria in our beach waters, if those levels/warnings were more widely known, might grow sufficient to prompt corrective action.
Note: LCP stands for Liquid Crystal Polymer -- i.e. plastics, man-made compounds. Some of the things man puts together are really hard to take apart.