In 2007 the United Church of Christ released “Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty.” Among many things, the report was the depiction of the various outstanding failures of local and federal government to protect the people of Dickson, Tennessee. Residents were poisoned from the common, but controllable, toxic chemical, TCE from well water. A county owned landfill was determined to be the source. Approximately 1,400 citizens’ water came from wells or springs within a four mile radius of the landfill. Around 40 homes are located within 500 to 2000 ft of the landfill. One company, the Ebbtide Corporation (boats) dumped drum waste every week for 3 to 4 years. One private well, the Harry Holt well, is located 500 feet from the landfill. For years since the late 1960s, the landfill has been the final resting place of toxic industrial waste barrels. The contents of those barrels, however, have made their way to contaminate groundwater, poisoning the mostly African American community.

Much of the waste, of course, was from gathered from other areas of the mostly white Dickson County and dumped at the unlined landfill around the time it was expanded in 1977. This is environmental racism. In response to this continuing act of racism, there is a petition that will be sent to the U.S. Congress, the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation, City and County of Dickson, Tennessee, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ). It is a call to end Environmental Racism in Dickson, Tennessee. I think we should let them know that Kentucky is watching, too, and that we stand in solidarity with the people of Dickson. To view and sign petition click HERE.

To learn more about the very important report the UCC released in 2007, check it out here. It is a very troubling but empowering report. I think most of us speculate that there is a problem of environmental inequity in the US and elsewhere, but this report will solidify that suspicion and give you facts to stand on.

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