FOR
IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 17, 2006
|
CONTACTS:
David Mickey
(336) 769-0955
|
Report
Finds Duplin Citizens Are Concerned About
Proposed Landfill
A new University of North Carolina School of
Public Health study released today by a local
citizens group found that Duplin County residents
remain concerned about the potential for
declining air quality, contamination of their
wells, and lost opportunities for future parks
and outdoor activities. The report, “A
Community Health and Demographic Survey Near a
Proposed Landfill Site in Northwestern Duplin
County, NC”, found slightly
elevated rates for allergies and asthma, as
self-reported by residents, already existed in a
two mile radius around the proposed site near
Faison.
Citizens for a Safe Environment, a Duplin County
chapter of the Blue Ridge Environmental Defense
League, sponsored the study. Emily Wurth, the
study’s principal investigator and a
graduate student in the UNC School of Public
Health, surveyed 212 households to collect health
and demographic information as well as feelings
about how a landfill might change their
neighborhood.
“It is important for communities facing the
potential development of a high impact industry
like a regional solid waste landfill to collect
baseline health and demographic information on
residents living in close proximity to the
site,” Wurth stated. This baseline report
will provide a means by which to measure any
changes in the health of residents in the
community, if the proposed landfill is
developed,” she added.
The report lists several health concerns express
by survey participants:
• Diesel emissions from 250
tractor trailers hauling waste daily to
the landfill;
• The potential for future well
contamination from landfill leachate;
• Hazardous air emission
contamination of local crops and produce;
• Additional pollution added to an
area with existing contamination from
industrial livestock operations;
• Loss of opportunity to develop
parks that encourage outdoor activities
and healthy behaviors;
• Stress from changes to the rural
farming community if the landfill comes.
|
Speaking on behalf of the Blue
Ridge Environmental Defense League, David Mickey
emphasized the importance of the report’s
findings. “Baseline community studies should
be a part of all decisions about landfills or any
other large industrial facilities. We advocate a
precautionary approach that involves everyone in
the process and takes under consideration
existing conditions in the community. This report
reinforces the importance of understanding those
existing conditions and involving everyone
concerned.”
The Blue Ridge Environmental Defense League was
founded in Glendale Springs, North Carolina in
1984 and has currently has chapters in North
Carolina, South Carolina, Virginia and Tennessee.
The report will be available on the group’s
website, www.bredl.org
- # -
More info: Download the
University of North Carolina School of Public
Health study:
"A Community Health and
Demographic Survey Near a Proposed Landfill Site
in Northwestern Duplin County, NC ",
|
