Using your zipcode (or the zipcode from your family home, find out the followingand enter info in your BLOG:
- Who and what are the top polluters in your zipcode?
The top polluters in my zip code are made up the government, the shipbuilding industry and electronics manufacturing. The top five polluters are:
1) U.S. Marine Corps (Camp Pendleton) [Government/Military]
2) National Steel & Shipbuilding Co. (NASSCO) [Ship building]
3) Watkins Manufacturing [Hot Tub manufacturing]
4) Southwest Marine Inc. [Ship/boat building]
5) Sony Electronics Inc. [Electronics]
- What percent of the homes in your zipcode have lead-based paint?
The percentage of the homes in my zipcode that have lead-based paint are 1% of houses in San Diego County, which might have a high risk of lead hazards.
- Are there Superfund sites in your zip? (In your BLOG, make sure to tell us what a Superfund Site is)
There is only one Superfund Site in San Diego, which is located at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base.
- What can you tell us about the Superfund sites that are near where you live?
The Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Base, the only Superfund Site in San Diego is located bordered by the City of San Clemente to the north, the City of Oceanside to the south, and the City of Fallbrook to the east.
The base has served as a training base since its establishment in 1941. Industrial and other support operations have generated hazardous wastes, including waste oils, contaminated fuels and other petroleum products, cleaning solvents, and pesticide rinsate. Camp Pendleton is participating in the Installation Restoration Program (IRP), established in 1978.
- What did you learn about the air quality in your zipcode?
The air quality in my zip code is actually one of the worst in the country. According to the Scorecard, San Diego County is among the dirtiest/worst 10% of all counties in the U.S. in terms of air quality index and average individual's added cancer risk from hazardous air pollutants.
- How about the water quality?
As far as water quality, it has one of the worst ratings. The percentage of surface waters with impaired or threatened uses and number of impaired waterbodies land in the 90% and 80% respectively. San Diego County contains a portion of 6 watersheds, which is why the water quality is so poor.
- How did your zipcode fair on a social justice / environmental justice basis?
When looking at the Environmental Justice report, the distribution of burdens by race/ethnicity, income, poverty, education, job classification, and home ownership were definitely higher among people of color, low income families, families below the poverty level, non-high school graduates, working-class people and renters. It was as high as double the rate for these populations compared to their counterparts.
In addition to looking at the Scorecard, I also looked on the San Diego Department of Environmental Health website to see the services that I would consider Environmental Health Services. Among those services were a "Fight the Bite" program for vector control, food complaints, cottage food operations, hazardous materials/waste, hazardous house waste, mobile homes and water quality.
I learned so much about the environmental health of San Diego, which actually scared me. I wish that more people knew about this or looked into it. I grew up thinking how beautiful San Diego and how perfect the weather was. What I didn't know is that depending on where people lived or other socio-economic factors, the rate of exposure is higher than in other places. Zoning and Permits can truly impact a community. Although I have never seen chemicals or toxins, doesn't mean that I wasn't exposed to them in one way or another during my upbringing in San Diego.
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