Environmental racism

I had to drive in to campus on Friday for small group and to take my COVID-19 rapid test. On the way, I stopped at this petrochemical plant that is a few blocks away from the school, The San Antonio Refinery LLC, to take a couple of snapshots and see what was close to the refinery. The facility produces coal and petroleum products and has earnings estimated to be $36.5 million as of 2021. The San Antonio River is a few blocks away from the river and there are several apartment complexes and schools, including the medical school, in close proximity to the refinery. What drew my attention was the flare stack that constantly burns day and night. Whenever Eboni and I drive near the area, there is a heavy stench of sulfur in the air and depending on the direction of the wind, some days, the air will have your eyes and nose watering/running.

These flares probably release all sorts of benzene, methane, sulfur dioxide, particulate matter, nitrogen oxide, heavy metals, carbon monoxide, and God knows what else. Many of these chemicals (and others) are correlated with preterm births, low birth weight, and some birth defects. These chemicals are also associated with asthma and other respiratory ailments in children and older adults. I can’t help but notice that the vast majority of the people who live, work, play, eat, sleep, and eventually die in this part of San Antonio, are Latinx.

This refinery being placed in the midst of what should be a thriving community is the very definition of environmental racism. I’m talking about the disproportionate burden of environmental hazards being placed in communities predominately made up of people of color and poor Whites. Frequently, this form of oppression is achieved by using the tools of systematic racism (i.e., policy and economic tools) that place low-income and brown communities near refineries, highways, lack of green spaces (which can bring down temperatures in the microenvironment), and landfills that contribute to the poor environmental health in these communities. These features also drive down property values and thus, keep these people from experiencing wealth generation/accumulation via home ownership.

Living under such conditions guarantees that poor and Brown people will experience a greater burden of disease. South San Antonio is also a food and healthcare desert, so these folks are already trying to live in a situation where the deck is stacked against them. Since I’ve had the chance to spend time with the people in the community these last four weeks, I’ve found myself paying close attention to the community health needs of S. San Antonio and I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about how I as a medical student, might use my voice to do something to bring about change. I don’t imagine that I would be able to force a multi-million dollar petroleum company to go out of business but I feel like I need to do SOMETHING. I wish that I could explain what I feel. But I’ve just had this growing need to do something to use m y voice to take action regarding environmental racism, the health of the environment, and climate change.