On April 26, 2019, General Counsel Bruce Morrison will present a recently completed report detailing the impact of hazardous waste sites on minority and low-income communities in Missouri. This report, prepared by undergraduate intern Chalaun Lomax, is the result of several months of analysis using EPA mapping tools in conjunction with the Department of Natural Resources’ Annual Registry Report. The DNR report lists all hazardous waste sites across the state of Missouri, ranging from Class 1 – sites causing or presenting imminent danger – to Class 4 sites, which are properly closed.

The purpose of this report (which can be viewed here) is to encourage local NAACP branches to prioritize environmental justice issues. Great Rivers hopes to achieve this by presenting a widespread, tangible issue that is impacting the everyday lives of disadvantaged Missourians.

First, Great Rivers identified hazardous waste sites using the DNR Annual Registry Report mentioned earlier. The report contains confirmed abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste disposal sites in Missouri. The sites we chose are in 4 major counties in Missouri which have NAACP branches: St. Louis City, St. Louis County, Jefferson County, and St. Charles County.

Then, Great Rivers used EJSCREEN – an EPA mapping tool – to set a 1.86-mile radius around each site and analyze the demographic indicators for the population within this radius. The EPA index includes various indicators, including the population size, the percentage of minority and low-income individuals, and the percentage with less than a high school education.

A 1.86-mile radius was used in accordance with the 2007 landmark report “Toxic Waste and Race at Twenty,” which found that more than half of the people who live within 1.86 miles of toxic waste facilities in the United States are people of color. This statistic held true for many of the sites examined in this report.

The report reveals that thousands of Missourians are at a heightened risk of health issues as a result of their proximity to these hazardous waste sites that require continued management. Great Rivers hopes that further action will be taken by the NAACP Committee after reading this report.