Clean Up, Clean Up, No Mas, No MoreBy: Interview with Juan Garza, El Paso Native
It doesn't make sense that contaminants emitted from ASARCO ended up only in people's yards while avoiding their homes, cars and trees. How then does it make sense to inspect only the front or the backyard and consider this sufficient? A "cleanup" is often limited to the soil surrounding a home, and the homeowner is likely to then feel safe. This false sense of security is what the people of El Paso need to be wary of, and what Juan Garza is fighting to expose. His is a story of a proactive citizen who took the time to educate himself on issues threatening his health and the health of his community. His goal is to encourage others to become aware of the realities of pollutants and join together in pressuring ASARCO and the EPA for adequate cleanups. Growing up in Sunset Heights, Juan Garza and his family were concerned with the highly visible emissions coming from the ASARCO tower. "Residents driving east on I -10 into the UTEP and downtown area remember that as you passed ASARCO at night you had to roll up your windows and hold your breath as you drove by." El Pasoans thought this to be normal, and pressure to stop ASARCO was minimal. It was not until 2001 when the El Paso Times reported that the EPA would be doing soil surveys in yards thought to be at risk of contamination that Garza became more involved. He sought more information from the EPA and found the process "like pulling an abscessed cavity from a reluctant patient." Encouraged by other concerned citizens, Garza began working with several citywide groups to safeguard health in El Paso, some of which included the El Paso Regional Childhood Lead Elimination Coalition, the Sierra Club and the Get the Lead Out Coalition. These groups face opposition from business and industry giants (and their public relations firms), but also from fellow residents. There is no general consensus about the proper course of action regarding ASARCO within the affected neighborhoods. Residents disagree on issues of yard cleanups and the Superfund, but everyone is concerned about costs and future contamination if ASARCO reopens. In the meantime, Garza believes "the industry and government agencies pit us against each other as they play a game of environmental chess." It is important that communities rally around common interests such as the desire for clean air, and not let political and economical interests prevail. Self awareness is the best defense against these threats. "It is only when a person understands the basic insidious nature of lead that a full awareness of where lead is found and how it impacts the individual lifestyle can happen." The insidious nature of lead is what Juan Garza has found to be overlooked by the EPA and other inspecting agencies. He does not believe there are adequate evaluations protecting human health. The EPA has not implemented or developed any methods to test exposure from multiple routes such as evaporative air coolers or attic spaces. "Re-suspension of contaminated soils occurs frequently in the El Paso area - this is due to the dry climate and arid environment, construction projects and frequent high winds blowing material off of the ASARCO site." Soil surveys are not enough because they do not take into account the accumulation of contamination in the form of very fine particles inside of homes. But Garza points out that ASARCO and the EPA continuously promote sentiments that once yard soils are replaced, homes become safe and healthy. To further investigate the threat of attic dust, Garza privately tested several properties. One homeowner's attic dust exceeded 2,000 ppm, a number much higher than the national (500 ppm) standard. In this case the attic was accessed through the child's bedroom closet. The attic cover had deteriorated and permitted dust to fall onto the child's personal belongings. This same house had previously been tested by the EPA and dismissed has being pollutant free. "The EPA in this example has completely and thoroughly failed to provide the proper risk assessment for this homeowner." The EPA did not test the backyard or the attic, and only tested the front yard which ironically had been landscaped by the homeowner one year prior to the EPA coming to El Paso. The EPA is capable of conducting thorough tests, but the people must demand it. The EPA has produced multiple sector assessments (including air, water, paint, attic dust, air conditioners, et. al.) for other ASARCO sites in America, but is only addressing the soil in El Paso. The citizens of El Paso also have inadequate information on the true levels of contamination on the ASARCO site itself. ASARCO continues to be allowed to “self report” to the EPA and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) regarding onsite contamination levels. Juan Garza questions "why the powerful EPA doesn’t have full access to undertake independent sampling and hazard assessments on ASARCO’s grounds." Garza sums up by saying, “The people of El Paso cannot ignore what is happening under the protection of their own homes. They cannot just hold their breath as the pollution seeps in through the cracks.” |
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