The Plight of Port Arthur The pet coke pile in Detroit was the result of a short-term production in one relatively small refinery. What will happen when full-scale refining takes place at the end of a pipeline delivering nearly 30 times the amount? The people of Port Arthur, Texas, are not eager to find out; the oil industry has already given them enough problems. I heard a statistic once that that if you lived within one mile of the ports you had an 82-percent increased rate of contracting leukemia, says Colarulli. Those sorts of stats are everyday life for people that live near an oil refinery like the citizens of Port Arthur. Port Arthur stands at the most southeastern point of Texas, bordered by Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico. Part of the Golden Triangle outside of Houston, its history as a refining center dates back more than a century, originating in 1901 with the Spindletop oil well in nearby Beaumont. Since then, its landscape has been dotted with refineries. From some parts of town, its possible the look out on the horizon and see nothing but oil refineries, including one of the worlds largest. Not coincidentally, Port Arthurs population suffers from shockingly high rates of cancer, asthma, kidney and liver disease, and other maladies attributable to the toxins in the air that they breathe. Its a disproportionate number of people suffering from illnesses. Their respiratory systems are damaged, and also we have some serious skin disorders. Throughout this community, within a one block area theres been at least three deaths from cancer, and any community you go into within the city of Port Arthur, you can bet if the residence that were once living there passed on, it was probably cancer related, says Hilton Kelley, a community leader and 2011 winner of the prestigious Goldman Prize (often called the Nobel Prize for environmentalists), naming him as the outstanding environmental activist in North America. Kelley was born and raised in Port Arthur, but left as a young man to join the U.S. Navy, and then went to Hollywood to pursue his acting dream. Despite a successful career, including work on the Don Johnson series Nash Bridges, he was compelled to return to his blighted, impoverished hometown. I came here [to Port Arthur] to visit in 2000, and just took a look around the community. I was wondering why wasnt somebody doing something to help rebuild this area, to help clean it up. And when I got back on the California I kept thinking about my hometown and the need for someone to help clean it up. And I just made a choice to come back to make that happen, he says. Since his return, Kelley has created the non-profit Community In-power & Development Association. And in seeking to clean up and revitalize the city, he has become something of a lay expert on the petrochemical industry and what it does to human health. With all these chemicals being dumped into the air like sulfur dioxide, 1,3-butadiene, volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, all these chemicals in the air that we breathe, Kelley rattles off the top of his head. We know how sulfur dioxide impacts us by itself, we know how benzene affects us standing alone. But all these chemicals mixed together, how does that impact our bodies? What is it doing to our mental state? What is it doing to our respiratory system? We dont know yet. We dont know. Kelley often hears critics say about the residence of Port Arthur, if its so bad why dont they just leave? But the fact is, he says, the people who remain in Port Arthur are generally the poorest of the poor. With 25% of the citys population living below the poverty line and nearly one-fifth unemployed (bearing in mind the official unemployment rate only counts those who are out of work and are actively seeking employment, excluding the chronically unemployed and part-time workers who would prefer full-time employment), seven out of 10 homes worth less than $50,000, the evidence supports Kelleys position. Economically, this community is very stressed. We have 16-, 17-percent unemployment. Those people that are employed, they are working two or three mediocre jobs fighting to keep the lights on because a lot of the jobs are paying $7.75. Why dont you move, you say? Because this is the cheapest place to live. They cant afford to move. Theyre stuck, Kelley says. As a result, those who are stuck suffer long-term impacts to their health. With no respite from the pollution in the air, Port Arthur residents dont spend too much time outside. One can drive around the town for hours and not encounter enough people to play a game of pickup basketball. Playing outside is kind of dangerous because of the emission levels, Kelley says. When kids play, they breathe deeper, and the respiratory system is sucking in more particles from the air. This can be dangerous because on any given day the plants can have an emission event and released tons of toxins that our kids are breathing in. In many cases, the kids have to take a breathing device with them. Its a pump you have to plug in and put in a little tube, and it creates a mist. The child has to put on a mask, and it opens up the bronchial tubes. One out of every five households has a child that has to use this type of medication. For Kelley, this work isnt purely altruistic. He has his own health problems related the environment, including chronic respiratory troubles and recurring rashes. And he speaks frequently of family members who have suffered and continue to suffer. From a cousin who died of a brain tumor as a child to another with lifelong breathing problems, not to mention uncountable friends and classmates who have died of cancer, lung disease, liver disease, and a litany of other diseases linked to petrochemicals, Kelley takes his work very personally. But he strives not to let his emotions interfere with what he needs to accomplish. It angers you, but what can you do besides protest? he asks. What else can you do besides write letters to congressmen and try to get them onboard, most of the time to no avail? What can you do besides call these folks and let them know that theres an issue? Were doing everything we possibly can to help protect the citizens from these dangerous chemicals, and all were doing seems to be not enough. Tell the State Department what you think about Keystone XL by taking action here. - See more at: prwatch.org/news/2014/02/12401/keystone-pipelies-exposed-sticky-oil-leaks-billion-dollar-spills-and-human-health#sthash.J1BHO4fi.dpuf
Posted on: Sun, 14 Dec 2014 01:04:10 +0000
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