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THREAD: Santa Ana has been devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic, but there’s another invisible public health crisis that environmental justice advocates say is being ignored…
Three years ago, I published a @thinkprogress investigation that found lead levels surpassing what one state agency considers dangerous for children in nearly a quarter of more than 1,000 soil tests conducted throughout Santa Ana.
Public health data also showed that the number of Santa Ana children who tested with dangerous levels of lead in their blood exceeded the state average by 64 percent. https://bit.ly/3kA7XtS
In one neighborhood, I found soil lead levels as high as 4,094 ppm, which is more than 50 times higher than the level the California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment has deemed dangerous for children. https://bit.ly/3mm9Afd
Alarmed by these findings, a coalition of environmental advocates, residents and researchers set about raising awareness about Pb contamination in Santa Ana, and conducted extensive soil testing throughout the city…
The coalition, spearheaded by @_OCEJ_ and @UCIrvine, also reached out to city officials hoping to partner to find solutions, but so far Santa Ana hasn’t taken the coalition up on its offer.
The @UCIrvine-led study, released this summer, confirmed lead soil contamination throughout Santa Ana, but now, as city planners prepare a draft general plan update, environmental advocates say the plan has too few specifics on how city will address the problem
Now, Attorney General @AGBecerra’s bureau of environmental justice has weighed in on Santa Ana’s planning process, and criticized Santa Ana’s failure to address lead soil contamination and other environmental justice concerns as part of the draft general plan update.
In my latest @grist piece, community advocates described this shortcoming as particularly dangerous for children’s health during the COVID-19 pandemic: https://bit.ly/2IXbHrl
The state's environmental justice bureau also considers the city’s timeline to approve the general plan update unrealistic and not in line with the requirements of that law (Senate Bill 1000) — that overburdened communities be engaged during every stage of a general plan update.
The move comes as vulnerable communities across the state — that for decades have been disproportionately affected by pollution, poverty, and health disparities — and now COVID-19 — are seeking relief via SB 1000 meant to alleviate these environmental burdens.
I’ve continued to investigate lead exposure in Santa Ana & other cities for @grist as the Pb crisis affecting America’s children is far from over due to current as well as legacy emissions & contamination. Experts say it’s urgent to address this problem.
“A delay — even in the form of delaying bringing people together to devise a response — is incredibly harmful and will have a consequence on how those children fare in the future,” says health and housing justice expert @emilyabenfer.
