Richmond California The growing crisis of the communities in the city of Richmond California

1. Richmond CaliforniaThe growing crisis of the communities in the city of Richmond California Tyler Fowler URBS/GEOG 515: Race, Poverty & The Environment Professor Raquel Pinderhughes, Urban Studies & Environmental Studies Programs, San Francisco State University Spring 2004 Public has permission to use the material herein, but only if author, course, university, and professor are credited.

2. This presentation focuses on the environmental conditions and environmental injustice issues in relation to the communities in Richmond California as a result of hundreds of petrochemical and industrial facilities located in the city. It is designed to take a look at how the placement of these facilities is having a devastating effect on the natural environment and the communities living within them. It analyzes and describes the struggles of the Richmond community, paying particular attention to the social, environmental and public health impacts of the processes associated with these toxic facilities. We start by taking a look at the history of Richmond and how it became a city littered with industrial activity. We will next look at the environmental impacts these facilities are having on the natural environment. This will be followed by the social impacts and Environmental injustice issues that are happening as a result of the placement of these facilities. And finally we will analyze how the people of Richmond are coming together and fighting for their health and well being as a community.

3. The City of Richmond is located in Northern California just northeast of San Francisco in Contra Costa County. Richmond is a predominantly African American community that has a population of 99,216 (U.S Census Bureau 2000)

4. Richmond is a city that over time has grown into being the host to several petrochemical, industrial, and chemical manufacturing facilities. All of these facilities produce, transport, and store enormous amounts of hazardous and harmful materials. The placement of these facilities in the city has caused the people in the community to become victims of Environmental Injustice. Income level and race determine where these toxic sites are located and poor people and people of color experience a disproportionate exposure to the toxins.

5. Richmond was never primarily a minority community that was overwhelmed by petrochemical and industrial land uses. The city grew because industry attracted residents with the promise of jobs. One of the first companies to move in was an explosive company by the name of Orks in 1878. Soon other explosive companies followed because of the areas growing construction needs. (Richmond, CA Info) Then the decision to make Richmond the terminal point for the Santa Fe Rails transcontinental line in 1900, combined with an ideal shipping port attracted several other manufacturing facilities to the city. So in 1902 Standard Oil constructed the second largest refinery in the entire world. They were soon followed by Western Pipe and Steel and a few other companies which started the industrial trend. (Richmond, CA Info)

6. Richmond then incorporated as a city in 1905 and started bringing in several new industries. Residential plots and small businesses began to emerge around these industries and Richmond started to transform into a heavily populated industrial city. (Richmond, CA Info) However it wasn’t until the beginning of World War II that the population of Richmond began to explode. Located in Richmond was one of the largest production facilities for building ships (one per day) for the War, Kaiser Shipyard which alone employed 100,000 workers during the peak of the war. The population in Richmond before the war was 23,642 and after was well over 100,000. The cities current racial composition can be traced back to this period because many blacks from the south left their farms looking for employment created as a result of the war. (Richmond, CA Info)

7. After world war II growth slowed down and jobs were lost but most of the industrial facilities stayed put. Today Richmond, California still has the same landscape as it did during the war. It is a large landmass of industrial sprawl with surrounding housing and small businesses. Over time these facilities have significantly destroyed the air, water, and soil quality. Leading to health and safety problems for the people of the community.

8. Here is a diagram of all of the Oil refineries located in and around the city of Richmond. Some of the TRI sites listed are also refineries.

10. Some environmental issues that have come about as a result of the Environmental damage that has occurred as a consequence of these companies are Land and soil degradation Water and ground water contamination Air pollution

11. Soil Through industrial process and oil refining there can be oil and other chemicals spilled on the soil. This usually happens as a result of an explosion or while transporting. Once on the soil the oil and chemicals get soaked in and over time and can leak into the groundwater harming both animal and human health. Another problem is when we clean up a spill all we do is dig up the contaminated soil and take it somewhere else such as a landfill where it will have the same impacts.

12. Water These toxic facilities are major contributors to ground and surface water. Water disposed of by these facilities is usually highly contaminated by all of the chemicals it came in contact with during different processes. Most of the water from oil refining usually comes from cooling towers, desalting processes, distillation, and storm water runoff. The water is usually recycled throughout the systems multiple times meaning it could come in contact with more than just one substance. Although the wastewater is regulated under the Clean Water Act, (CWA) this is only at the point source it is not regulated in non-point source runoff and seepage. The sign below shows just how toxic the waters have become in the bay. The sign is showing that the shellfish in the area are considered deadly.

13. Air Oil refining companies are the biggest culprit in contributing to air pollution. Here is a list of some of the pollutants that come out of the refining processes. Benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene, Particulate matter, nitrogen oxides, carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide, and sulfer dioxide. Some of these chemicals are known cancer causing agents These toxins can also be responsible for developmental and reproduction problems and the development of respiratory problems such as asthma. They are also harmful to the environment in the form of global warming and ozone depletion. These toxins are usually released when there are valve leaks, burning of fuels for energy, explosions and accidents, fugitive releases, and regular emissions.

14. EMP RANK BUSINESS NAME CATEGORY EMPLOYEES 1 CHEVRON USA Petroleum/Coal Products 2442 2 KAISER PERMANENTE Hospitals 602 3 BERLEX LABORATORIES Chemical Prdct/Production 471 4 SAFEWAY STORES Retail Food Stores 323 5 MACYS DEPARTMENT STORE Department Stores 292 6 MSC PINOLE POINT STEEL Primary Metal Industry 243 7 BIO RAD LABORATORIES Chemical Prdct/Production 218 8 FORD MOTOR CO PARTS DIST Transportation Equipment 194 9 KENSINGTON LABORATORIES Instruments & Rltd Prdcts 193 10 QUICK RESPONSE SERVICES Printing/Publishing 188 11 COSTCO WHOLESALE Genl Merchandise Retail 168 12 SEARS ROEBUCK CO Department Stores 160 13 WIRELESS FULFILLMENT SERVICES Communication 157 14 VERIFLO CORP Industrial Equipment 157 15 ZIPREALTY COM RE Brokers & Agencies 153 16 JC PENNEY CO Department Stores 152 17 ALBERTSONS Retail Food Stores 148 18 GRACE BAKING CO Food Products/Production 129 19 ONYX PHARMACEUTICALS Chemical Prdct/Production 120 20 BURGER KING RESTAURANT Eating/Drinking Places 116 21 IHOP RESTAURANTS Eating/Drinking Places 115 22 WEST COUNTY TIMES Printing/Publishing 114 23 PALECEK IMPORTS INC Durable Wholesale 114 24 ANDROS Instruments & Rltd Prdcts 110 25 AMOT CONTROLS CORP Instruments & Rltd Prdcts 106 26 ALAN RITCHEY Personal Services NEC 103 27 WINE WAREHOUSE IMPORTS Food Products/Production 101 28 WATCH HOLDINGS Apartments 100 29 AT T BROADBAND Communication 100 30 SEALY MATTRESS CO Home Furnishings Misc. 96 Here is a list of some of the businesses in the city of Richmond. You can see the highlighted companies are the ones working with highly polluting industrial and chemical processes. The EMP rank is the employment rank which shows what companies employ the most people and you can see that the petrochemical and other industrial companies are some of the companies employing the most people

15. I will now analyze the company that was number one on the list in the previous slide, one of the biggest polluting facilities in Richmond; ChevronTexaco. ChevronTexaco one of the largest oil companies in the world, operates refineries and industrial plants in Richmond. The company makes billions of dollars in profits and is high up in being a major political and economic player in California. They are one of the wealthiest companies in the world as members of the Fortune 500. The company has spent millions of dollars on advertising campaigns to promote their concern for the environment while in the background they are spending even more for lobbying and campaign contributions that are aimed at degrading environmental, human, and labor standards. (Project Underground)

16. The ChevronTexaco refinery has been one of the top ranking toxic waste producers for over a decade. In 2000, “Chevron Texaco released about 1.5 million pounds of toxics, on site and off site, into the air, land and water of the bay area.” (Project Underground) “The EPA alleged that ChevronTexaco did not fully report a few different toxic chemical spills. They also were accused of violating the Clean Air Act on many different occasions between 1991 and 1995 by bypassing the refinery’s water treatment system and discharging water that exceeded toxicity limits. Within these releases was hydrogen sulfide, hydrogen fluoride, sulfur dioxide, and sulfuric acid. “ (Project Underground) “All of these violations were discovered when federal and state investigators found that the plants wastewater could not pass an acute toxicity test. One test was to drop some baby trout and other fish in the water to see if they would survive and not a single one did.” (Project Underground)

17. Here are just a few issues that have been taken up against ChevronTexaco. “Conversationalists have challenged the amount of pollution the Chevron Oil refinery in Richmond is allowed to dump into San Francisco Bay”. (RiverWatch) “Communities for a Better Environment contend state regulators broke state and federal laws by allowing Chevron to dump too much dioxin into the bay”. (RiverWatch) “The state warns people not to eat more than certain amounts of fish from the Bay, but they're not telling Chevron to reduce its contribution to the harm," said Greg Karras, a scientist for the statewide group based in Oakland. (RiverWatch) Karras also said new data that industries report to the federal EPA shows that “Chevron accounts for more dioxin pollution than any other industrial plant in the bay area.” (RiverWatch)

18. A good example of how the community of Richmond negotiated with Chevron in order to make the city cleaner, was when GNP (Good Neighbor Project) teamed up with the West County Toxics Coalition and several community groups to help the communities that were predominantly African-American and located near the refinery. GNP helped attain a Good Neighbor Agreement among the parties in which chevron agreed to Install 350 "leakless" valves in a new project and retrofit 200-400 valves in the existing refinery. Continue to reduce toxic emissions from the refinery beyond the 60% achieved between 1988-1992. Provide skilled job training to 100 local residents. Contribute $2 million to a local health center. Install sirens and computers, train emergency workers and establish and fund a city Emergency Services coordinator position for five years. Redirect $5 million in corporate philanthropy to nearest and poorest neighbors over five years. Spend $100,000 over 3 years to restore native vegetation along bayshore property. Work with East Bay Regional Parks to complete a feasibility study for constructing a bike trail from Pt. Richmond to Pt. San Pablo. (Riverwatch)

19. In another story where the Richmond community won a big victory was when the Richmond City Council Energy Subcommittee voted to reject a proposed heavily polluting power plant. And did something completely opposite and voted to support new studies towards clean and renewable energy. (Green Action) “One hundred residents of this low-income community heavily impacted by polluting industries turned out to denounce the proposed 500 megawatt power plant that reportedly would have used oil-derived fuel.” (Green Action) “In response to the unanimous objections from the community to the power plant plan, the City Council vote was greeted with cheers and a standing ovation from the audience.” (Green Action)

20. As was mentioned before the majority of the population in Richmond is African American but not by much 31.4% is white 12.3 % Asian and about 14% Latino. (Richmond Ca, Info) And although Richmond is mostly an industrial city there is a portion of Richmond that is often overlooked. This portion is inhabited by middle to upper-class mostly white families. It is located far from the refineries with views of the water and a golf course near by. The prices of some homes in this area can reach one million dollars. This just shows how segregated the community is. The majority of African Americans and Latinos are located within the closest proximity of the toxic sites while the majority of whites live far away from the toxic sites.

21. This picture shows just how close the Richmond schools are to the refineries and TRI’s. The schools located in side the circle are all within one mile of one of these sites. This is a major problem considering that kids are at more risk for serious health problems. “There is an ever-growing body of science showing that children are much more vulnerable than adults to chemical exposure, yet most health standards for pollution are set at levels that protect just adults," said Assemblywoman Escutia. "Kids can't speak up for themselves nor can they shield themselves from the dangers of pollution. (The California League of Conservation)

22. You can see from the above pictures that the location of the TRI sites are in the most impoverished and non-white areas. It is clear that income level and race are factors that are closely related to the location of these toxic sites. There is no question that people of color experience a disproportionate exposure to harmful toxins.

23. The 1989 CBE report “Richmond At Risk: Community Demographics and Toxic Hazards from Industrial Polluters” documents this environmental racism, finding that the toxic hazards in the Richmond industrial zones were located adjacent to 14 neighborhoods where 70% to 90% of the residents were African-American. (Richmond Greens) “In one incident more than 7000 pounds of sulfuric acid fumes poured from a leaky General Chemical railroad car for three hours, forming a corrosive cloud that sent up to 20,000 people to hospital” (Richmond Greens) Michael Belliveau, the executive director of the California Citizens for a Better Environment (CBE) stated in a hearing on the spill on August 10, “Over the last five years, more than 10 other major chemical releases and explosions have killed one person, severely burned four people and exposed thousands more throughout the county”. (Richmond Greens)

24. “We are expendable. Our lives are not important. They feel that they can continue to trample on our human dignity.” These comments from Henry Clark, the executive director of the West County Toxics Coalition and a resident of North Richmond, the area hardest hit by the toxic release, reflect the general mood.”(Richmond Greens) Michelle Jackson of Neighborhood House in North Richmond underlined this in her testimony. “This racism was blatant when African American females were taken to the fire station and asked to take off all their clothes while white firemen watered their naked bodies down with water hoses looking very promiscuous... This racism was blatant when residents [who were taken over 50 kilometres away for care] ... were left to find their own way back to North Richmond ... This racism was blatant when nobody, absolutely nobody came to North Richmond to do an environmental check on the elderly, children, families, and residents with prior documented respiratory problems.”(Richmond Greens)

25. Here are some examples of how the people in the Richmond community are being affected and how they feel about it Dortha Reid who move to Richmond near the chevron refinery and other chemical plants has watched her sick children and her grandchildren develop asthma. "There's nothing worse than sitting up with a new baby that's sick," said Reid, 55, who herself got the disease as an adult. "My great-grandson, we had to take him to the hospital for three days when he was 4 months old." Children are particularly susceptible to asthma attacks, which can be triggered by dust, mold, cigarette smoke and air pollution, health experts say. “While Contra Costa's asthma rate among children is 9 percent, according to the UCLA study, sufferers are highly concentrated in Richmond, San Pablo and Bay Point, areas where neighborhoods border refineries and chemical plants, figures from the county and state Department of Public Health show” In Contra Costa, 181 residents, 11 of them children, died from asthma from 1992 to 2000. From 1995 to 1997, 3,219 Contra Costa residents were hospitalized for asthma, 1,105 of them children, the California Department of Health Services reports. "In the final end it comes down to a disrespect for us," said Henry Clark, executive director of the West County Toxics Coalition. "We're not recognized as human beings. You can dump garbage on them, you can dump waste on them." (Richmond Greens)

26. Here are some facts pulled directly from the Black Leadership Forum “The air in African American communities violates air quality standards. In 2002, 71% of African Americans live in counties that violate federal air pollution standards, compared to 58% of the white population.” (Black Leadership Forum) “Most African Americans live near a power plant. Seventy-eight percent of African Americans live within 30 miles of a power plant - the distance within which the maximum effects of the smokestack plume are expected to occur. By comparison, about 56% of the white population live within 30 miles of a coal-fired power plant.” (Black Leadership Forum) “Asthma attacks send African Americans to the emergency room at three times the rate (174.3 visits per 10,000 population) of whites (59.4 visits per 10,000 population). African Americans are hospitalized for asthma at more than three times the rate of whites.” (Black Leadership Forum) “The death rate from asthma for African Americans is twice that of whites (38.7 deaths per million population vs. 14.2 deaths per million population.” (Black Leadership Forum)

27. This is a copy of an interview with Dr. Robert Bullard, one of the pioneering scholars and activists in the environmental justice movement that I think hits the nail on the head I highlighted what I thought were some of the best points Earth First interviewed Robert Bullard about environmental justice for people of color. Earth First stands in solidarity with people who are subjected to environmental racism by multinational corporations like Chevron/Exxon/etc.. From the Earth First journal; "RB: Race is still the potent factor for predicting where Locally Unwanted Land Uses (LULUs) go. A lot of people say its class, but race and class are intertwined. Because the society is so racist and because racism touches every institution--employment, housing, education, facility siting, land use decisions, you can't really extract race out of decisions that are being made by persons who are in power and the power arrangements are unequal. When we talk about the institution of racism as it exists in environmental policy, enforcement, land use, zoning and all those things. All of that is part of the environment and we have to make sure that our brothers and sisters who are in environmental groups understand that's what we are saying. Environmental justice is not a social program, it's not affirmative actions, its about justice. and until we get justice in environmental protection, justice in terms of enforcement of regulations, we will not even talk about achieving sustainable development or sustainability issues until we talk about justice. A lot of the groups that are trying to address these issues in the absence of dealing with race may be fooling themselves. When we talk about what's happening along the US-Mexican border and the colonias and the maquilas and the devastation that is happening along the border, the health conditions of children and workers and not understand that it's also related to our consumption patterns, consumption behavior and who has the most money to consume the most. And those are issues that may be unpopular when we sit in rooms and talk but I think that's how the environmental justice movement is forcing these issues on the table and really getting a lot of people to think about how we can start to address the disparities and the inequities and the privileged position that some people have only because of the skin color that they were born in. And that's where the justice issues come into account. Now all of the issues of environmental racism and environmental justice don't just deal with people of color. We are just as much concerned with inequities in Appalachia, for example, where the whites are basically dumped on because of lack of economic and political clout and lack of having a voice to say "no" and that's environmental injustice. So we're trying to work with groups across the political spectrums; democrats, republicans, independents, on the reservations, in the barrios, in the ghettos, on the border and internationally to see that we address these issues in a comprehensive manner. " www.ejnet.org/ej/bullard.html

28. Here is a list of what the Green Party is proposing for Richmond CA The Green Party proposes to: Phase out fossil fuels and convert to renewable energy sources Reduce the use of fossil fuels by large scale conservation and by converting to safe, renewable energy sources The Richmond Greens propose to: Reduce the use of fossil fuels by large scale conservation and by gradually converting to safe, renewable energy sources. Participate in a regional Public Power entity which has a comprehensive plan to phase out completely the utilization of fossil fuels for energy production, replacing them gradually with clean renewable sources. Declare Richmond a "Clean Industry ONLY Zone". Phase out fossil fuel production in Richmond. Have Chevron-Texaco provide a comprehensive early retirement package (including substantial severance pay and re-training programs) to all employees affected by the downsizing and eventual closing of theRichmond Chevron Texaco refinery, and related industries (General Chemical). Mandate Chevron to clean up the 100 years of pollution accumulated in the land. Restrict the uses of the land to activities which enhance the cleaning upprocess. Compensate appropriately the Richmond residents whose health and well being have being affected by years of pollution from the refinery and related industry. Use tax measures and land use permits to force Chevron to comply with the will of the people of Richmond. (RICHMOND GREENS)

29. In conclusion Richmond California has a community base that is going in the right direction. They are forming groups and taking action against the companies polluting their city and making their families sick. ChevronTexaco and other highly polluting companies will not be leaving any time soon but they can be cleaned up and regulated. And as far as Environmental Injustice and racism the community just needs to keep fighting for their rights and educating as many people as possible about their situation. There needs to be a change in how we decide where toxic facilities are placed. Finding the most impoverished cities with communities of color is Environmental injustice and is usually tied to racism. Here are a few of the community groups that are a devoted to change in Richmond, CA that you can look further into for more information The West County Toxics Coalition -Up to 1000 members of the Richmond community have come together under the banner of this community organization. Communities for a Better Environment (CBE) -An environmental group based in the San Francisco Bay Area, CBE has provided much technical and scientific assistance to local community groups. CBE helped provide scientific information and expertise about the Chevron refineries and other industrial plants to the residents of Richmond. Richmond Greens - Green Values & the African American Community Richmond Progressive Alliance - We are an alliance of Progressive Democrats, Greens and Independents coming together in progressive unity  for a better and healthier Richmond, California Green Action –Green action mobilizes community power to win victories that change government and corporate policies and practices to protect health and to promote environmental justice.

30. Work Cited Environmental update #12 Published by the Hazourdous Substance Research Centers (June 2003) Accessed 4/18/04 http://www.hsrc-ssw.org/update12.pdf Project Underground Richmond, California Accessed 4/18/04 http://www.moles.org/ProjectUnderground/oil/richmond/ River watch Accessed 4/15/04 http://www.northerncaliforniariverwatch.org/resources/news%20articles/press_cuff.html Smart Community Network -Good Neighbor Agreement with Chevron Richmond Refinery Accessed 4/15/04 http://www.sustainable.doe.gov/success/good_neighbor_project.shtml Richmond, California Information Homepage Accessed 4/20/04 http://www.ci.richmond.ca.us/Information/Fact.html Redefining Richmond A Preliminary Study of the Toxic Release Inventory Sites Located in Richmond California Alison De Lucca Mid-term UP206A   Professor Leo Estrada November, 2000 http://www.bol.ucla.edu/~adelucca/richmond.htm From The California League of Conservation Voters FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 9, 1998 http://www.ecovote.org/news/pr-kidssign.html Richmond Greens “Many neighborhoods – one Richmond” Environmental Racism: Poisoning African-Americans By Alex Chis http://www.richmondgreens.net/enviracism.htm Photos from 2002 cancer tour Catherine Porter in costume at the 2002 Cancer Industry TourPhoto by Donna Scism http://www.toxiclinks.net/thumbnails.html Spinning gallery design –Environmental Racism- http://www.spinningdisks.com/images_gallery_design/envracism.gif Survey of representatives of the major Kingdoms General Biology BI 04 Summer http://www.anselm.edu/homepage/jpitocch/genbios/surveybi04.html   Berkeley Archive http://arch.ced.berkeley.edu/kap/2002_images/Queue/richmond02.jpg Rootsweb postcards www.rootsweb.com/.../postcards/ ppcs-ccc.html Richmond Case Study - Sherman www.umich.edu/~snre492/sherman.htm                                                        

31. Work Cited Continued Black Leadership Forum Inc, “Air of Injustice” African Americans and power plant pollution http://www.blackleadershipforum.org/articles/air_injustice.html Green Action Victory for clean, Renewable Energy in Richmond, California http://www.greenaction.org/powerplants/pr060401.shtml http://www.greenaction.org/index.shtml Environmental Law Alliance Worldwide E-LAW Impact: South Africa Rejects Hazardous Waste Incineration  www.elaw.org/custom/custompages/ viewpage.asp Environmental racism and oil refineries by moth Tuesday November 04, 2003 at 02:33 PM http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/11/1657337.php Environmnetal Justice: An interview with Robert Bullard July 1999 by Errol Schweizer http://www.ejnet.org/ej/bullard.html Richmond Greens “Many neighborhoods – One Richmond” http://www.richmondgreens.net/pollution.htm SF indymedia Photos: ChevronToxico Direct Actionby Eric Wagner Wednesday September 10, 2003 at 04:38 AM http://sf.indymedia.org/news/2003/09/1642665.php McDowell Knight Roedder & Sledge L.L.C http://www.mcdowellknight.com/images/pieces/smoke_stacks.jpg ChevronToxico Clean Up or Pay up http://www.chevrontoxico.com/ http://ssla.oneworld.net/ezimagecatalogue/catalogue/variations/5396-100x150.jpg Picture of Water to control toxins http://pubs.acs.org/hotartcl/est/98/may/4904coleC.ev.jpg A chevron Texaco Company http://www.chevron.sk/ Airflow Engineered Systems Inc. http://www.airflowengineeredsystems.com/ Shellfish Deadly Point Isabel Regional Shoreline, Richmond, CA (1987) http://geogweb.berkeley.edu/GeoImages/BainCalif/cal400/clamdead.html