Hazmat Storage Near NYC Waterways Endangers Communities

Author

Brett E. Dahlberg, Cuny Graduate School of JournalismFollow
Nicole Acevedo, Cuny Graduate School of JournalismFollow

Graduation Date

Fall 12-15-2017

Grading Professor

Robert Lewis

Subject Concentration

Health & Science

Degree Name

Master of Arts (MA)

Abstract

New York City has 520 miles of shoreline--that’s more than Miami and Los Angeles combined. These waterfronts are home to some of the city’s most polluted sites because major part of it is zoned for industrial use. Dozens of industrial plants in this area store toxic chemicals in flood zones: substances that are hazardous to our health, like Benzene, which is used in rocket fuel, toluene, a paint thinner, and lead a neurotoxin. In a flood, these chemicals can easily get caught up in moving waters and pollute entire neighborhoods.

That’s exactly what happened when Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012.

In an attempt to avoid these types of incidents, Congress passed a law called the Emergency Planning and Community Right to Know Act back in the 1980s. Its authors designed the law to help businesses keep their toxic substances tightly sealed and protected from rising waters, with the help of civilian oversight.

The New York City News Service’s Brett Dahlberg and Nicole Acevedo found the city has a funny definition of “right to know” and has been falling short of the promises it made after Sandy to secure those chemicals and minimize industrial pollution near waterways.

The link to the project: https://medium.com/@nicole.acevedo/five-years-after-sandy-hazmat-storage-near-nyc-waterways-endangers-communities-dfab72df7ad8

Recommended Citation

Dahlberg, Brett E. and Acevedo, Nicole, "Hazmat Storage Near NYC Waterways Endangers Communities" (2017). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gj_etds/240