#toxicwaste — Public Fediverse posts
Live and recent posts from across the Fediverse tagged #toxicwaste, aggregated by home.social.
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How communities in #SacrificeZones suffer environmental injustices in #Mexico, #Chile, #Nigeria and #Indonesia (analysis)
Daniela Sepulveda and Angélica Arellano, 9 Apr 2025
"Across continents, 'sacrifice zones' resemble wounds carved deep into the fabric of our planet. These are regions where ecosystems and livelihoods have been ravaged by fossil fuel and other industries that promise progress but leave devastation in their wake. These are places where big business and transnational corporations are contaminating the rivers, darkening the skies, and making the soil barren; where the toll of development is paid in human suffering and ecological destruction.
"What unites these 'sacrifice zones' is the shared story of areas where prosperity for the few is built on the suffering of many, and where communities fight to mend the fractures inflicted upon their land, health and dignity.
"Here are four case studies highlighting the experiences of communities and civil society organizations collaborating with us in the Coalition for Human Rights in Development’s Community Resource Exchange.
"In the #TulaTepejiApaxco region, where the #Toltec plains once supported rich #biodiversity and #CulturalHeritage, the water and air are now saturated with pollution. This devastated landscape was declared both in 1975 and again in 2005 by the U.N. as one of the most polluted places on Earth, marking it as an #EnvironmentalDisaster zone. Since the early 20th century, the arrival of #CementPlants, #refineries, #ChemicalFactories, a #coal-fired power plant and #LimeKilns has transformed the region. Backed by all levels of government, these industries have destroyed the area’s ecological balance and ruined the health of its people, poisoning the water, air and soil with #ToxicWaste.
"Prominent among these polluters are cement giants like #Holcim, #CEMEX, #CementosFortaleza and #Clarimex, whose operations release harmful gases that exacerbate the region’s environmental and public health crises. One of the epicenters of this environmental catastrophe is the #TulaRiver, which receives 150,000 liters (nearly 40,000 gallons) of untreated wastewater every second from Mexico City and the Valley of Mexico. These 'black waters' are teeming with industrial and hospital waste plus sewage, overwhelming the river and its tributaries.
"The #EndhóDam, originally built to support local #agriculture, has become a toxic dumping ground, poisoning thousands of people who rely on wells for drinking water. Despite decades of warnings, local and national governments have allowed this contamination to persist. The poisoned waters have killed fish, flooded the land with toxic sludge, and led to a surge in cancer, leukemia, respiratory and gastrointestinal diseases among the 15,000 inhabitants living along its banks. In 2021, a devastating flood related to the overflowing Tula River left 17 dead and displaced thousands, a stark reminder of the ongoing risks of government inaction.
"The region now faces a massive public health crisis, and the recent declaration by the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources to designate the area as an ecological restoration zone is a necessary but overdue step. This declaration covers municipalities such as #Atitalaquia,TepejiDelRío, #Tepetitlán and Tlahuelilpan, where 498 businesses have been identified as generators of hazardous waste, including 14 that produce hydrocarbons. The study, based on a water, air and soil analysis, could mark the beginning of recovery if it is implemented with urgency and seriousness.
"Over the years, organizations like #RedDeConcienciaAmbiental '#QueremosVivir' have resisted, bringing visibility to the devastation and fighting to halt deforestation and continued pollution. In the words of one of the leaders of Queremos Vivir ('We want to live'), 'There needs to be a legal solution, because it’s that urgent. We believe there is still a way to reverse it, and we have time to show the newly elected president #ClaudiaSheinbaum the dire situation we’re in.'
"Their demands include a reduction in the water flow of the Tula River through holistic water management solutions, and government accountability for decades of environmental neglect, calling for reparations for both industrial pollution and the catastrophic 2021 floods.
"While they welcome Sheinbaum’s promises to clean the river and launch a circular economy project, they emphasize that meaningful environmental justice must not be delayed any longer. After stating the communities’ demands through tears, the Queremos Vivir leader said, 'Are we really just going to be destined to be a sacrifice zone? The damage is so severe, the degradation we are in, that if we don’t protect it, don’t defend it, then what are we going to do?' "
#SEZs #Antofagasta #Nigeria #Indonesia #HumanRights #HumanRightsFreeZone #CorporateColonialism
#Exploitation #RaceToTheBottom
#HumanRightsViolations
#Pollution #EnvironmentalDegradation
#EconomicSacrificZones
#ForcedRelocation #ForcedDisplacement #TraditionalLifestyles #AirIsLife #WaterIsLife #EnvironmentalRacism #Exploitation -
Bhopal gas tragedy: Toxic waste from deadly leak fuels protests in India
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/c863jy00430o -
[Thread] The next installment from #KleeBenally 's book, #NoSpiritualSurrender
“The devastation of #NuclearColonialism, which permanently destroys #Indigenous communities throughout the world, is outright ignored by some of the most devout #ClimateJustice advocates. They claim #NuclearEnergy production is also a #GreenSolution to the #ClimateCrisis. More than 15,000 abandoned #UraniumMines are located within the so-called US, mostly in and around Indigenous communities, permanently poisoning #SacredLands and waters with little to no action being taken to clean up their deadly toxic legacy. There are currently 93 operating #NuclearReactors in the so-called US that supply 20% of the country’s electricity. There are 60,000 tons of #HighlyRadioactive spent waste store in concrete dams at #NuclearPowerPlants throughout the country with the waste increasing at a rate of 2,000 tons per year.
“In 1987 the ‘US’ Congress initiated a controversial project to transport and store almost all of the US’s #ToxicWaste at #YuccaMountain located about 100 miles northwest of so-called #LasVegas, #Nevada. Yucca Mountan has been held holy to the #Paiute and #WesternShoshone Nations since time immemorial. In January 2010 the #ObamaAdminstration approved a $54 billion taxpayer loan in a guarantee program for new nuclear reactor construction, three times what Bush previously promised in 2005. In April 2022, the #BidenAdministration government bailout to ‘rescue’ nuclear power plants at risk for closing. A #Colonial government representative stated, ‘US nuclear power contributes more than half of our #CarbonFree electricity, and President Biden is committed to keeping these plants active to reach our #CleanEnergy goals.’
“They, along with Climate Justice activiists, cite nuclear energy as necessary to combat #GlobalWarming, all while ignoring the devastating percent impacts #IndigenousPeoples have faced. There is nothing clean about energy produced from nuclear colonialism. From its weapons (including #DepletedUranium) to its #Mining and its waste; Indigenous bodies, lands, and waters continue to be sacrificed to heat water with radioactive materials which creates steam that moves generators to change batteries made from #Lithium extracted from other Indigenous sacred lands so #Teslas can mo you forward into a ‘just’ climate future.
“A green economy sustains and advances colonial progress, which means mitigated selective and ongoing destruction of #MotherEarth.”
Pages 139-140
#IndigenousAnarchy
#Ecosystem #HaulNo #DefendTheSacred
#CorporateColonialism #NoDAPL #CriminalizingDissent #WaterIsLife #ClimateDefenders #NoCopperMiningWithoutConsent #NoLithiumMining #CorporateColonialism #NoMiningWithoutConsent #LithiumMining #CopperMining #Greenwashng #NuclearWeapons #RestInPowerKleeBenally #RIPKleeBenally #StopCanyonMine -
#PalisadesNuclearPlant has a long history of problems. And #Holtec a long list of violations. They were made for each other [sarc]
#Palisades #nuclear plant gets $150 million in #Michigan budget
By Sheri McWhirter, Jul. 03, 2023
"Michigan lawmakers included $150 million toward the effort to restart the Palisades nuclear plant as part of a record $81.7 billion state budget passed last week.
"State officials contributed the millions in taxpayer dollars toward #Holtec International’s effort to get the nuclear plant upgraded and fired back up to provide 800 megawatts of carbon-free, base load power as the energy sector transitions away from fossil fuels. If it happens, it would be the first nuclear plant nationwide to return to generating power after being decommissioned.
"The plant was closed last year when its fuel ran out and the owner sold the facility to Holtec. The new owner has now twice applied for federal money to help get the plant operational again.
"The Biden administration has a $6 billion fund within the U.S. Department of Energy intended to preserve the U.S. nuclear reactor fleet and energy sector jobs.
"[...] Power generation at nuclear plants does not generate greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change, like burning fossil fuels does. However, some #environmental advocates remain concerned about ecological #degradation from needed #uranium #mining and #radiation risk from #ToxicWaste nuclear plants produce."
https://www.mlive.com/public-interest/2023/07/palisades-nuclear-plant-gets-150-million-in-michigan-budget.html
#UraniumMining #NuclearPlants #NuclearWaste #HoltecLies #RethinkNotRestart #RenewablesNow -
#Farmers Deceived About #Sewage #Sludge Safety
April 2, 2010
"On March 27th [2010] Citizens for Sludge-Free Land sent a letter to the #Virginia Department of Environmental Quality and US #EPA Region 3 that information provided to Virginia landowners about using sewage sludges as #fertilizer is deceptive. Land application permits are being granted in several Virginia counties without informing farmers of the serious risks associated with this practice. The VA code specifies, that to be valid, these permits can only be granted with the #InformedConsent of the landowner.
"The Federal #CleanWater Act defines sewage sludge as a #pollutant. Most of the pollutants that sewage treatment plants remove from wastewater concentrate in the resulting sludge. Exempt from #hazardous and solid waste laws, sludge is being spread on #agricultural land, despite mounting scientific evidence and field reports that using this contaminated waste as a cheap fertilizer is neither safe, beneficial, nor sustainable.
"The Virginia Cooperative Extension Service as well as Nutri-Blend Inc., the company that needs permits to spread sludge, are failing to provide landowners with the necessary facts, so they can make an informed decision whether or not to treat their land with sludge. The widely distributed Extension Service biosolids fact sheets-- although deceptively dated May 9, 2009-- provide out-dated, inaccurate, incomplete, and in some cases, misleading information. They overstate the alleged benefits and totally ignore the known risks and recent documented evidence of adverse health and #environmental impacts linked to sludge use. The fact sheets and brochures give the illusion that land applying sewage sludge, a complex and variable mixture of #HumanWaste and thousands of industrial #chemicals, many of which are #toxic and persistent, is a safe and normal agricultural practice.
"The information provided to landowners deceptively downplays the health risks of exposure to odors, odorant compounds, endotoxins, bacteria-laden dusts, and toxic gases at land application sites that can cause severe and permanent #lung damage. Nor are farmers told that typical sludges generated in industrialized urban areas contain not only pathogens, but also #PCBs, #dioxins, #carcinogens, #pharmaceuticals, flame retardants [#PFAS], and hormone disrupting chemicals that can damage developing organisms in parts per trillion. Many of these pollutants do not break down once they are applied to land. Worse, partial breakdown products are often more toxic than the parent material. Yet federal regulations require testing and standards for only nine toxic metals. Perhaps most important, the information provided to farmers fails to disclose that the National Academies of Science has indicated that while there are serious health concerns associated with many of the constituents of sewage sludge, there is too much uncertainty to scientifically predict the true health and environmental risks, when this complex waste mixture is applied to land.
"Finally, farmers are not told that sludge-exposure has been linked to illnesses, human deaths, livestock mortalities, groundwater pollution, and permanently degraded land. Unless there is a true and accurate disclosure of all the risks associated with this practice, there can be no true consent.
"Without informed consent, the state should not be issuing permits."
Link to archived web page (TY @internetarchive!):
https://web.archive.org/web/20221227022631/https://organicconsumers.org/press/farmers-deceived-about-sewage-sludge-safety#PFOS #ChemicalIndustries #ToxicWaste #WaterIsLife #ForeverChemicals
