Houston
What does NIMBY stand for and why is it relevant for the reading?
Not in my Backyard. NIMBY-ism drives unwanted facilities to more vulnerable groups
For how long were residents of the West Dallas housing project exposed to lead from the nearby RSR smelter?
Five decades
What two main institutions were affected by the Union Carbide chemical plant?
West Virginia State College and a rehabilitation center
What is the nickname for the chemical corridor along the Mississippi River from Baton Rouge to New Orleans and how did it earn that nickname?
Cancer Corridor
The demise of which industry in Sumter county led to widespread unemployment?
Agriculture
What project caused controversy about landfill siting to peak in the 1970s?
Construction of Whispering Pines landfill
How did the ordinance passed in 1968 to limit the emission of lead compounds impact the citizens of West Dallas?
City officials widely refused to enforce it. They diid sue in 1974, but then also weakened the ordinance.
What international occurrence frightened the community at Institute and what was the plant’s response? Did the response prove effective?
Poison-gas leak in Bhopal, India. Plant temporarily shut the MIC unit and funded a safety and emergency warning system. Warning system proved ineffective
Which national environmentalist groups participated in the protest against burning PCBs at the incinerator?
Greenpeace and Sierra Club
What is the name of the black grassroots community group that led local opposition to the waste?
Minority People’s Council
How many of five large garbage incinerators in Houston were located in minority neighborhoods at the time this data was taken?
All five
How did the publicity in 1981 help the situation in West Dallas?
Not significantly. RSR replaced soil, not much else
How did the fact that the area was unincorporated affect the attitude towards Union Carbide?
The community received no tax benefits from the plant. Some members even claimed that Union Carbide was using political influence to keep the area unincorporated to keep from paying taxes
A white property owner received a $15M settlement after what incident involving Rollins?
His cattle were killed from spilled Rollins water on his pasture
Residents thought what industry was moving into the community after hearing rumors about the new development planned?
What policy, unique to Houston, led to haphazard and irrational land-use planning?
Lack of zoning laws
What did it take to put the Dallas lead problem in the national limelight, and how long since the ordinance to limit emission of lead compounds had it been?
The Levitas hearings and the departures of EPA top administrators. 1968 to 1983
Who organized the group called People Concerned about MIC?
A professor at West Virginia State College (Edwin Hoffman)
Local activists wanted to Rollins to provide residents with what benefit in addition to the monetary settlement?
Access to a health clinic funded by Rollins
Who acquired 2,400 acres of land and obtained the required permits for sale to Chemwaste?
Governor George Wallace’s son in law
What effects did the lawsuit filed by the NCAG have on environmental issues?
-City council passed resolution that prohibited city-owned trucks from dumping solid waste in the landfill built
-City council passed ordinance restricting waste sites near public facilities like schools
-DoH updated requirements of landfill permit applicants to include data on proposed sites
-The issue mobilized a part of the community that had not been before
What agreement is one of the largest community lead-contamination settlements ever awarded, and is hailed in the reading as a showing that “poor black communities are no longer willing to accept other people’s pollution”?
A $20M settlement between RSR and a Dallas attorney on behalf of 370 children and 40 property owners
When the EPA went to investigate the emergency alarm system at Union Carbide, what did they find about the plant?
It had 61 MIC leaks over the past five years
Which resolution mechanism did not result from the Alsen protests?
Legislation
What is the number of Chemwaste employees that came from Emelle and Geiger (two majority black communities)?
50