So What’s With Wicomico?
These are not strictly local problems. Toxicity and environmental injustice can be found everywhere in the world. From the water crisis in Flint to the air pollution in India and the displacement of native communities in Hawaii, no place on Earth is a stranger to the harm and alienation of minorities and their local environments. However, we focused on our local issues to bring awareness closer to home. When you think of environmental issues, you probably think of something happening across the country, or even across the world. But there is a community outside your front door suffering the same.
Our research encompasses just 9 of many toxic and environmentally unjust sites in Salisbury. These are not the only locations in the area that could have been featured in this StoryMap. We chose to highlight sites that covered a range of topics, including both remediated and unremediated sites. However, these 9 sites are far from exhaustive. We have compiled a longer list of resources regarding air pollution, water pollution, cancer cases, and environmental justice both in Wicomico and along the east coast. You can find that list of references below.
Although the purpose of this StoryMap was to showcase instances of environmental justice and toxicity, some of the sites only fall into one of those categories or the other. Not every toxic site is located near a community primarily of color, and not every environmental justice site involves elements of toxicity. It is also important to note that there are some residents living near these sites that do not feel as though they are affected negatively, and do not mind living next to Salisbury’s major polluters. However, even though some people don’t care, that doesn’t mean we can dismiss the danger of these sites. Much of this toxicity is invisible, and many diseases are slow-moving. Residents may not realize the extent to which they are being affected by pollution. Something in the Wicomico area is causing people to develop cancer at higher rates than anywhere else in the state. Yet, the amount of pollution being emitted from the industrial and agricultural sites in the area remains completely legal.
Our research encompasses just 9 of many toxic and environmentally unjust sites in Salisbury. These are not the only locations in the area that could have been featured in this StoryMap. We chose to highlight sites that covered a range of topics, including both remediated and unremediated sites. However, these 9 sites are far from exhaustive. We have compiled a longer list of resources regarding air pollution, water pollution, cancer cases, and environmental justice both in Wicomico and along the east coast. You can find that list of references below.
Although the purpose of this StoryMap was to showcase instances of environmental justice and toxicity, some of the sites only fall into one of those categories or the other. Not every toxic site is located near a community primarily of color, and not every environmental justice site involves elements of toxicity. It is also important to note that there are some residents living near these sites that do not feel as though they are affected negatively, and do not mind living next to Salisbury’s major polluters. However, even though some people don’t care, that doesn’t mean we can dismiss the danger of these sites. Much of this toxicity is invisible, and many diseases are slow-moving. Residents may not realize the extent to which they are being affected by pollution. Something in the Wicomico area is causing people to develop cancer at higher rates than anywhere else in the state. Yet, the amount of pollution being emitted from the industrial and agricultural sites in the area remains completely legal.