To: TSU GISc Lab:
 
 

The Memphis & Shelby County Health Department’s Pollution Control Department has reported there are no air monitors in the area; even those that measure ozone, carbon dioxide, and particulate matter. There isn’t a hazardous pollutant monitor in the area either; health department officials say EPA has not yet required them. As with most communities, it is difficult to get someone to come out and take air samples when you complain. Many community residents feel the hazardous air pollutants in their neighborhood may be causing or exacerbating some of their health problems and they are burdened with the task of arguing their case to company and regulatory officials.
 

There is a major concern in this neighborhood about chemical accidents and adequate emergency alert systems for community safety. There is a siren at the community center that may not go off unless the emergency management agency downtown deems it necessary. The community feels helpless and unsure about whether or not they should flee, stay, or be evacuated.
 

Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been used increasingly to map instances of environmental injustice, the disproportionate exposure of certain populations to environmental hazards. Although there may be unresolved issues in mapping definite relationships between pollution and an individual’s health, GIS mapping in our target neighborhood can be used as an excellent tool to raise awareness and enable residents to discuss toxic emissions, raise questions about the company’s liability in a chemical emergency situation, and questions about the government’s role in their protection. Thus, we feel a GIS project that will provide overlays showing the location of toxic pollution emitters, schools, neighborhood streets, railroad tracks, and circles to indicate the toxic plume in a worst-case scenario situation with several of the plants closest to the neighborhood. I say several plants, because there are eight toxic emitters within a three-mile radius of the center of the neighborhood. Determining the worst-case scenario for the targeted facilities can be done using the Toxic Release Inventory data and in some cases, the checking out the company’s own worst-case scenario they have filed in their emergency management/risk assessment plans. Whether this project should focus on daily doses of various pollutants or a worst-case scenario is up for discussion.

Sincerely,

Rita Harris, Environmental Justice Organizer
Sierra Club Environmental Justice Program, Memphis TN

May 2002