Stakeholder assessment and analysis

1. Ironbound CARE Cumulative Impacts Project
Working Group Survey Assessment
Presentation to EPA CARE Working Group
February 18, 2010
Claudia Mausner, Ph.D.
Environmental Projects Associate,
Ironbound Community Corporation

2. Ironbound CARE Cumulative Impacts Project
Survey Assessment
Project Goal: Form partnership with stakeholders to
learn about and develop strategies to
address environmental and health issues
in the Ironbound.
Survey Goal: Measure changes in Working Group
members’ awareness and understanding
of environmental and health issues in the
Ironbound as a result of participation in
EPA CARE project.

3. This presentation is a summary and analysis of survey
responses by members of the EPA CARE Working Group.
Individual survey responses are anonymous and confidential.
Verbatim quotations have been used with only minor
modifications when necessary for additional clarification. The
results of this survey represent the personal knowledge and
opinions of members of the Working Group.

4. Working Group members represent diverse backgrounds,
training and experience . . .
• local community groups
• residents and non-residents of Ironbound
• environmental nonprofits
• with expertise in statistics, chemistry, law, planning, business,
engineering, medicine, public health, ecology and more
. . . bringing a wide range of perspectives to this Project
Ironbound CARE Cumulative Impacts Project
Survey Assessment Response Rate: 13/20

5. “Most Serious” Environmental Problem
in the Ironbound
Empirical data
Source of Pollution
Frequency – How often? Location – Where?
Pollutant
PAST FUTUREPRESENT
Ways of Knowing
Direct experience
• bad odors
• heavy air
• eye irritation
• difficulty breathing
Anecdotal evidence
Empirical data

6. Ironbound’s “Most Serious” Environmental Problem
SOURCES OF POLLUTION
• Covanta – incinerator
• Highway
• Airport
• Port
• Local industrial facilities/operations
• (Historically ) industrial areas
FREQUENCY
• Covanta is doing its worst
every day of the year
LOCATION
• community is surrounded
• in the air
• groundwater pollution
• land pollution
• ground chemical pollutants
PAST
• Historically
industrial areas
PRESENT
• Covanta is
NOW.
FUTURE
• Covanta is
TOMORROW
POLLUTANTS
• air pollution
• emissions from sources of pollution:
incinerator, highway, local industry,
vehicle (truck) traffic
• chemicals
ABSENCE OF SOLUTIONS OR MITIGATION
• severe lack of open space
• refusal of responsible authorities to
acknowledge interaction of natural,
built and social environments

7. •
Ironbound’s
“Most Serious” Environmental Problem
• lack of exercise
• poor diet
• age-related vulnerabilities
(very young, very old)
• institutional racism
• race-related health disparities
• inability to stop more pollution
• sense that life is out of control
Cumulative Impacts
“Social-determinants of health”
+
Powerlessness
of affected communities

8. Most Significant Sources of Pollution in the Ironbound
OTHER SIGNIFICANT SOURCES OF POLLUTION
• brownfield/contaminated sites
- old chemical waste dumping
- residual pollutants from former
industrial operations
- Diamond Shamrock
- contaminated soil
• airport
• factories/local industry
• untreated runoff
• litter
• illegal dumping
• PSE&G pipes
• lead
• mercury
• Passaic River
• dioxin
PARTICULATE MATTER
• truck traffic in community
• automobiles
• port
• highways (1&9, NJTPK)
• home furnaces
• diesel emissions
Local and state decision-makers using “old” paradigm
PATHWAY
• atmospheric deposition from surrounding,
up-wind industrial operations
(8 mentions)

9. How much impact do the following pollutants have on
Ironbound’s environment?
* Dioxin (11/12)
Particulate matter (11/13)
Lead (9/12)
Mercury (6/12)
Other: oil byproducts; industrial soup; jet fuel
HIGH IMPACT
* Not consistent with “most serious” environmental or health problem

10. How much impact do Ironbound’s pollutants have
on the following health conditions?
Asthma (13/13)
Respiratory illness(10/13)
other than asthma
Cancer (9/12)
Stress (6/12)
HIGH IMPACT
Cardiovascular disease
(6/12)
Other: Diabetes

11. ASTHMA (11/13)
respiratory,
pulmonary,
breathing problems
CAUSED BY AIR POLLUTION
- such as diesel
- from transportation-related traffic (trucks,
buses, rail, automobiles)
- that can’t be monitored
What is the “Most Serious” Health Problem
Affecting Ironbound Residents?

12. • circulatory problems such as strokes and heart attacks
• stress
• sub-optimal quality of life
• No recognition of interaction between natural, built and social environments
• Absence of preventive, precautionary approach to decision-making
• No consideration of cumulative impacts
• Absence of health impact assessments

13. Mental Maps of Ironbound’s “Most Polluted” Areas
adapted from
Kevin Lynch The Image of the City (1960)
EDGES:
Linear elements not used for or
considered paths. They are boundaries
between two places, linear breaks in
continuity such as a shore, railroad,
edge of development.
PATHS:
Channels along which people (or pollu-
tants) move. They may be streets, walk-
ways, transit lines, railroads, waterways,
air.
DISTRICTS:
Medium-to-large sections of the city, with
two-dimensional extent that makes it
possible to be “inside of”. Often used for
exterior reference when outside of it.
LANDMARKS:
Physical object such as a building.
Frequently relied on for wayfinding
and orientation within the city. May
be focus of intensive advocacy
efforts.
NODES:
Strategic spots which people can enter.
Receive intensive focus and may
contain concentration of pollutants.
Often found inside a district.

14. EDGES: DEFINING THE IRONBOUND
Passaic River
Railroad and
McCarter Highway
1&9 and NJTPK
Port
Ironbound is “surrounded” by historically industrial areas
Transportation . . . “within a confined area”

15. Mental Maps of Ironbound’s “Most Polluted” Areas
PATHS:
• Passaic River/ along the Passaic
• Chester St., Lister Ave., Hawkins St.
• South Street
• Corridor along 1&9
• Wilson Street
• the air
DISTRICTS:
• Doremus Avenue corridor
- Industrial area around Doremus
• Passaic River corridor
• East Ironbound (?)
• East of 1/9 industrial area
• S. Ironbound industrial area
- Thomas St. & Ave. C area
• Port Newark
LANDMARKS:
• Passaic River
• incinerator/near the incinerator
• Diamond Shamrock/Alkali
• railyards
• Cooksom
NODES:
• Old Farmer’s Market
• around Metals Management
(Hawkins or Doremus)
• residential areas near old factories

16. • Homes (my home)
• Elm Street
• Previously developed
residential areas
• Independence Park
- across from East Side HS
• Neighborhood gardens
• Wilson Ave. business area
• Ferry St. business district
Air toxics =
No “least polluted” area ?
Ironbound’s
“Least
Polluted”
Areas
Parks*
Schools
Business
Areas
Residential
Areas
* No mention of Riverbank Park
Mixed Use:
• West Ironbound
• Ferry Street
• Wilson Ave.

17. How much do you believe interaction between pollutants in the
Ironbound increases their impact on resident health?
“MAJOR INCREASE” 100% AGREEMENT

18. Thank you for participating in this survey!
Questions?
Comments?