• Ar
  • Es
Al Mayadeen English

Slogan

  • News
    • Politics
    • Economy
    • Sports
    • Arts&Culture
    • Health
    • Miscellaneous
    • Technology
    • Environment
  • Articles
    • Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Blog
    • Feature
  • Videos
  • Infographs
  • In Pictures
  • • LIVE
News
  • Politics
  • Economy
  • Sports
  • Arts&Culture
  • Health
  • Miscellaneous
  • Technology
  • Environment
Articles
  • Opinion
  • Analysis
  • Blog
  • Feature
Videos
Infographs
In Pictures
  1. Home
  2. News
  3. US & Canada
  4. Environmental racism; chemicals in Latin, Indigenous communities water
US & Canada

Environmental racism; chemicals in Latin, Indigenous communities water

  • By Al Mayadeen English
  • Source: The Verge
  • 5 Jan 16:12
  • 1 Shares

Drinking water in Latin and Indigenous communities shows traces of uranium and arsenic.

  • Drinking water of Latino, indigenous groups show traces of toxic agent
    Signs warning of health risks posted outside the gates of an abandoned uranium mine

A report published by The Verge on Wednesday detailed the gruesome results of an analysis conducted on levels of uranium and arsenic contamination in the drinking water of Latino and Native American communities in the US. 

According to the research which was published in December in the journal Nature Communications, these two specific communities happen to reside in areas where drinking water presents "significantly higher" concentrations of the toxic substances.

The report also states that Black residents have also been affected by high levels of contamination in specific residential areas in the US. 

"The racial and ethnic makeup of your community should really not be connected to the quality of the water that you drink. And this is something that needs to be taken very seriously," says Irene Martinez-Morata, lead author of the research and PhD candidate in environmental health sciences at the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health.

Read more: UK government finances environmental racism despite settlements

Traces of uranium and arsenic in drinking water are often found in many community water systems across the nation, but they usually fall below the Environmental Protection Agency's limits. 

But Martinez-Morata's research found that specific residential areas with different demographic makeups presented higher levels of pollution concentration compared to other counties. 

For instance, in counties that presented a 10% larger proportion of Latino residents, researchers found a 17% higher concentration of uranium and a 6% higher concentration of arsenic in their drinking water.

Likewise, in counties that presented a 10% larger proportion of Native Americans and Alaska Natives, they found a 2% higher concentration of uranium and a 7% higher concentration of Arsenic. 

As for counties where the proportion of non-Hispanic Black residents was 10% higher, the level of arsenic and uranium in drinking water was found to fluctuate between 1 and 6%. 

No way Jackson Mississippi, the CAPITOL of Mississippi, should have all these water issues.

The city is overwhelming Black and Brown and they have boil water notice every few months

It’s environmental racism at play due to the lack of funding placed into the infrastructure.

— Big G (@Alwayz_Winning) December 26, 2022

Although the research doesn't delve into how such discrepancies were shaped, it is a factual given that people of color have always endured the brunt of environmental racism.

Colonial states, such as the US and Canada, have always sought ways to prioritize the health of a specific category of individuals - usually its settler population, in particular whites. 

Other studies have shown how, for instance, Blacks and Latino populations are disproportionally exposed to higher concentrations of toxins in the air they breathe in specific counties and residential areas. 

Read more: Mississippi faces 6th day of unsafe water, racism is a factor

This particular study examined uranium levels in the water systems of 1,174 different counties and arsenic levels in 2,585 counties from 2000 until 2011. 

Although low levels were detected in two-thirds of the EPA's records, it is still unclear what low levels of uranium could really affect the body - that is, below the EPA’s regulated limit of 30 micrograms per liter.

"But while researchers are still trying to understand what low levels of uranium exposure do to the body, doctors say there’s no real safe amount for humans," the report states

"Chronic exposure to high levels of uranium have been linked to a heightened risk of hypertension, cardiovascular disease, kidney damage, and lung cancer. Arsenic, meanwhile, is a known carcinogen."

While uranium contamination can occur in natural ways, because uranium traces happen to be naturally present in the Earth's crust, humans are in greater part to blame due to their mining activities, which pollute the water with uranium or contaminate it with pesticides produced out of arsenic. 

"That legacy of pollution has been linked to kidney disease, cancer, and a neuropathic syndrome in children."

Several Indigenous communities have fought for decades to ward off miners and big contributors to pollution, and they continue to do so. 

In September 2022, the EPA announced it created a new Office of Environmental Justice and Civil Rights focused on achieving environmental justice and protecting civil rights.

Martinez-Morata said she hopes her research findings will be used to serve this purpose. 

"I hope that our work serves practical applications, and at least as a call for action," she told The Verge.

Read more: Greenpeace UK: Global South 'used as a place to dump waste'

  • indigenous people
  • Native Americans
  • Uranium
  • Environmental racism

Trending Now

All
A sign of COP 15 biodiversity summit (EEAS)

Global 'peace pact' inked to protect nature

Most Read

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks at a press conference on 25, February, 2022. (AFP)

Kiev unable to launch counteroffensive: Zelensky

  • Europe
  • 25 Mar
Europe's move has only increased Putin’s esteem outside the West -- but estimation of Europe’s political nous and understanding of Russia, however, is sharply diminished.

Lawfare Comes into Fashion: The New Geo-political ‘Rack’

  • Analysis
  • 25 Mar
President Joe Biden listens as German Chancellor Olaf Scholz speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office of the White House in Washington, Friday, March 3, 2023 (AP).

Hersh: Nord Stream explosion decision possibly 'anger' or 'punishment

  • US & Canada
  • 25 Mar
Crewmen enter Bradley fighting vehicles at a US military base at an undisclosed location in Northeastern Syria, on November 11, 2019 (AP)

US occupation bases under fire in Syria for second day in a row

  • MENA
  • 24 Mar

Read this

All
SDF and US troops in occupied Al Hasakah, Syria. (Reuters)
MENA

ISIS stole US arms in Syria, Iraq: The Intercept

  • Today
US military vehicle is seen on a patrol in the countryside near the town of Qamishli, Syria, December 4, 2022 (AP)
MENA

6 US occupation troops suffer 'traumatic brain injuries' in Syria: DoD

  • 30 Mar
A woman walks by a money exchange shop decorated with different countries currency banknotes at Central, a business district in Hong Kong, Aug. 6, 2019 (AP Photo/Kin Cheung)
Europe

New BRICS currency underway: State Duma Deputy Chairman

  • 30 Mar
President Joe Biden speaks alongside Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a Summit for Democracy virtual plenary in the South Court Auditorium on the White House campus, March 29, 2023, in Washington, DC, United States (AP)
Latin America

Brazil refuses to sign Summit for Democracy declaration against Russia

  • 30 Mar
Al Mayadeen English

Al Mayadeen is an Arab Independent Media Satellite Channel.

All Rights Reserved

  • Privacy Policy
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Authors
Android
iOS