Water, Disaster, and Contamination
Access and control over water resources by various parties have often led to uncontrolled and unsupervised exploitative activities, resulting in significant problems such as environmental destruction and water pollution. Among the human activities contributing to water contamination is the disposal of toxic waste. Thomson 2019 explores the Love Canal crisis and its impact on contemporary environmental justice activism, narrating how inhabitants of Love Canal, New York, learned that their neighborhood was built atop toxic waste, leading to serious health problems and environmental contamination. Similarly, Sarathy 2018 highlights how industrial waste disposal, and water pollution control in Southern California were historically viewed and treated as economic issues rather than public health concerns, leaving long-lasting environmental impacts. The long-term effects of unsupervised chemical use, such as DDT, are also discussed by Kinkela 2011, who focuses on its use in malaria control and the debates surrounding its environmental impact, including the pollution of water sources.
Nuclear testing and the disposal of radioactive waste have also raised significant concerns about water contamination. Dibblin 1998 investigates the lasting impacts of United States nuclear testing on coastal societies in the Marshall Islands, while Hamblin 2008 examines the emergence of global environmental governance. He focuses on the establishment of international treaties like the London Dumping Convention, designed to regulate the disposal of hazardous wastes, including radioactive materials, at sea. Mitchell 2020 presents a thorough analysis of the environmental and health impacts of military conflicts, focusing on the use of chemical and biological weapons in Okinawa, Japan, and Micronesia. Fazzi 2023 discusses the rise and fall of ocean incineration, a practice by the U.S. government that involved burning toxic waste, such as Agent Orange, at sea using specialized ships.
Unregulated industrial activities have further exacerbated water pollution. For instance, Stanford-McIntyre 2018 examines the oil boom in the Permian Basin and the development of the Odessa Petrochemical Complex which fuelled economic growth and technological advancement but led to negative impacts on public health and the environment. Hochschild 2016 highlights similar challenges faced by people in Louisiana who deal with serious pollution in their air, water, and land as a result of unregulated industrial activities. The destruction and contamination of water sources due to human activities also contributes to environmental disasters. Spezio 2020 explores the development of oil spill response and prevention, emphasizing the shift in the oil industry’s approach following catastrophic events involving oil such as the Deepwater Horizon spill in 2010. Meanwhile, Pilkey and Pilkey 2019 delves into the impacts of rising sea levels on the U.S. due to global climate change, addressing issues from tidal flooding to the vulnerability of critical infrastructure.
Scholars have also examined developments in environmental safety regulations. Hines 2013 discusses the transformative impact of the Clean Water Act (CWA) of 1972 resulting in dramatic reduction in U.S. water pollution through the implementation of strict federal water quality standards. He discusses how, before the Clean Water Act (CWA), water pollution was managed at the state level and with minimal enforcement, resulting in some ineffective controls. Meanwhile, Turner 2018 outlines the political and legal battles surrounding environmental regulations in the U.S. from the 1970s through the 1990s.
Books
The Pacific communities were affected by the nuclear testing, they are the people of Rongelap atoll, who were contaminated by fallout from the 1954 Bravo test, and the people of Kwajalein atoll, who were forced to relocate to create space for missile testing. It explores the reasons behind the United States use of the Marshall Islands for nuclear and missile testing, the local environmental and health damage that resulted from the testing, and the continued efforts of the Marshall Islanders to fight for justice.
Louisiana’s heavily polluted rivers, bayous, and lakes cause serious health problems for its citizens, including birth deformities and cancer. Instead of supporting environmental control, many of these residents align their values with conservative ideas, despite the devastating impacts of the pollution. Through interviews, Hochschild discovers that their emotional self-interest and resentment are the root causes of their resistance to environmental regulations. They perceive minorities and immigrants as unfairly benefiting from these programs, while their own sacrifices and hard work are disregarded or undervalued.
The book discusses the global spread of DDT, its consequences in public health and the environment, and the controversies that arose around its use, especially in developing nations. The fact that it was sprayed inside homes and in water sources to eradicate malaria-carrying mosquitoes shows the immediate effects of DDT on land and aquatic ecosystems.
The book discusses the use of toxic agents by Japan and the brutal experimentation during the war. It also covers the nuclear testing in the Pacific done by the United States. All of these actions resulted in long-term contamination and health concerns to those exposed to such activities.This book explains why it is essential to address long-overdue environmental and public health issues in a period when disaster risk is rising.
“If you can see the sea, the sea can seize you.” Illustrated with various examples, colorful photographs, and data charts, the Pilkeys discuss various topics, including the environmental, political, and economic consequences of rising seas. Through this book the Pilkeys challenge the readers to think of assessment of current strategies and policies related to climate change to ensure that future generations are not left with uninhabitable shorelines.
Sarathy covers the history and consequences of the Stringfellow Acid Pits, a hazardous waste site in Southern California, which were used to dispose of industrial garbage from 1956 to 1972, polluting the groundwater. In 1978, flooding caused by heavy rains endangered nearby towns, contaminating them with toxic wastewater. Local authorities and business groups frequently ignored or downplayed the risks of industrial waste, prioritizing economic growth over environmental protection despite public health concerns. There was inadequate oversight, poor regulation, and decisions made that favored industrial interests at the Stringfellow site.
In this text, McIntyre discusses how the petrochemical industries in Odessa, Texas led to widespread water contamination, impacting both low-income and wealthy populations due to negligent waste management and emissions. Despite early signs of harm, public health concerns were disregarded for decades until legal action in the 1990s forced companies to address pollution and brought attention to the human and environmental consequences of unregulated industrial growth.
Toxic substances such as dioxin were dispersed across the neighborhood due to the contamination of its local waterways. Residents demanded evacuation after realizing that the toxic waste buried in the canal was affecting the neighborhood’s creeks, sewers, and water. The chapter also looks at how residents challenged scientific risk evaluations and framed their fight for health as a struggle for their rights as citizens using personal experiences and health surveys.
Despite the early success of The Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) in reducing pollution through the Clean Air Act and Clean Water Act, there were attempts to weaken them that surfaced from business groups, especially within the Reagan administration. However, strong opposition from Congress, environmental groups, and the public helped defend and maintain these environmental laws. Even though there were still problems with environmental justice, these laws ultimately played a significant role in reducing pollution and improving public health.
Articles
Fazzi contends that although the burning method was first considered as a solution to dispose of dangerous chemicals in a way that seemed safe and easy, growing concerns about its environmental and health impacts led to massive protests. Greenpeace and other environmental groups exposed the dangers of ocean incineration by combining scientific research and public campaigns to rally opposition which led to a change in policy. The United States government stopped supporting ocean incineration by the 1980s, followed by international regulations that began to ban it.
Hamblin argues that despite the appearance of progress in environmental regulation, many countries manipulated legal definitions and retained their current dumping practices, using the conventions more as a public relations tool than as genuine environmental protection measures. He also highlights the tension between political convenience and environmental responsibility, showing how leaders often talk about protecting the environment but fail to follow through with real policy changes.
The Clean Water Act (CWA) initiated a federal-state partnership whereby the federal government had taken prime responsibility for the standards of water pollution control. With all these challenges and shortcomings, including the unrealized complete elimination of water pollutants, the law nonetheless caused large-scale improvements in water quality. The text underscores how the CWA, despite its shortcomings, was crucial for the development of water pollution control and current environmental policy.
Spezio discusses how the industry spent decades concentrating on cleaning up spills rather than preventing them which was not working well. In the 1970s, this strategy was re-examined with an emphasis on spill prevention in response to increasing public and political criticism following previous disasters like the 1969 Santa Barbara leak. Spezio also argues that showing the sources of pollution today might make policymakers move more quickly to address environmental issues like pesticides and climate change, just like how the visible effects of oil spills led to quicker decisions.