Environmental Justice Report
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Environmental Justice Report;
Statistical totals from 370 Questionnaires.]
To research and document neighborhood concerns about toxic contamination, local health issues, the remediation process, and public reaction to the Consent Decree, HRI designed a comprehensive questionnaire.
Within a six week period, researchers went door-to-door in the seven most affected neighborhoods. 370 questionnaires were filled out.
What follows is an attempt to report on and interpret this important data. It is our hope that interested community groups, local and state and federal legislators, as well as environmental regulators might benefit from a careful reading of the results.
As a recipient of both state and federal grants, HRI is committed to doing the best possible job of providing assistance to our community, and we know that these results will help guide our future efforts.
Executive Summary
To research and document neighborhood concerns about toxic contamination, local health issues, the remediation process, and public reaction to the Consent Decree, the Housatonic River Initiative (HRI) designed a comprehensive questionnaire (Appendix A). Within a six week period, researchers went door-to-door in the seven most affected neighborhoods: Allendale, the East Side, the Floodplain, Lakewood, Morningside, Silver Lake, and the West Side. 370 questionnaires were filled out. A database to tabulate and quantify the results of the questionnaires was designed and a detailed statistical summary was created. (Appendix B).
What follows is an attempt to report on and interpret this important data. It is our hope that interested community group, local and state and federal legislators, as well as environmental regulators might benefit from a careful reading of the results. As a recipient of both state and federal grants, HRI is committed to doing the best possible job of providing assistance to our community, and we know that these results will help guide our future efforts.
One of the most telling results of the survey was the fact that 134 respondents, or 42% of those who responded, have had personal experience with polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs).
In response to questions about possible health effects, 109 respondents or 29%, reported cancer problems they thought could be related to exposure to PCBs or other toxic chemicals.
72 respondents, or 19%, reported having had contact with the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MDEP). 44 of those 72 respondents were satisfied with the MDEP, while 23 stated they were dissatisfied with their experience.”
While 31 respondents reported having had experience dealing with the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), 18 of them were satisfied, and 12 were not.
Only 22 respondents reported having had experience dealing with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health (MDPH). Of those, 13 were satisfied with their experience, while 8 reported being dissatisfied.
When asked about how well the Agencies have done informing respondents about the issues of PCB contamination, 51 % or 189 of the respondents said the Agencies had done a good job, and 137 or 37% thought they hadn’t done a good job.
158 respondents, or 43%, had suggestions to improve the process. 29 respondents, or 8% of those interviewed, had information about possible disposal of PCBs or other toxic chemicals in Berkshire County.
89 respondents, or 24%, expressed satisfaction with the recent settlement between the Agencies, the City of Pittsfield, and General Electric (GE), while 121 or 33% stated they were not satisfied with the settlement. 134 respondents or 36% said they didn’t know about the settlement.
56% or 209 respondents stated they wanted to receive mailings from the Agencies and 213 respondents stated they wanted to receive mailings from HRI.