{"id":383,"date":"2008-07-01T07:07:09","date_gmt":"2008-07-01T11:07:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/?p=383"},"modified":"2008-07-07T08:57:22","modified_gmt":"2008-07-07T12:57:22","slug":"human-rights-petition-challenges-us-environmental-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/beyondpesticides.org\/dailynewsblog\/2008\/07\/human-rights-petition-challenges-us-environmental-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"Human Rights Petition Challenges U.S. Environmental Racism"},"content":{"rendered":"

(Beyond Pesticides<\/em>, July 1, 2008) On behalf of the African American residents of Mossville, Louisiana, the non-profit, public interest law firm Advocates for Environmental Human Rights (AEHR) on June 23, 2008 filed with the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights<\/a> (IACHR) a detailed account of the human rights abuses suffered by residents as a consequence of governmental approvals that allow industrial facilities to dump millions of pounds of toxic chemicals every year.<\/font><\/p>\n

The filing is an amended petition (Petition No. P-242-05<\/a>), which includes a response to the U.S. Government’s arguments that attempt to defend its flawed environmental regulatory system that perpetuates environmental racism and denies basic human rights in Mossville and other similarly situated communities of color, according to AEHR.<\/font><\/p>\n

The petition states:
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“[The residents of] Mossville suffer from severe health problems, elevated levels of cancer-causing and hormone-disrupting chemicals, a devastated environment, and a deteriorated quality of life, all of which arise from governmental approvals of highly toxic industrial development in and around Mossville.<\/font>
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\nThe United States government and its political subdivisions have authorized fourteen industrial facilities to manufacture, process, store, and discharge toxic and hazardous substances in close geographic proximity to Mossville residents. Three of these facilities \u2014 an oil refinery, a vinyl manufacturer, and a petrochemical facility \u2014 are located within the recognized historic boundaries of Mossville, and eleven other facilities \u2014 three vinyl manufacturers, one coal-fired power plant, and eight petrochemical facilities \u2014 are located within 0.8 kilometers (one-half mile) of the community. Each of the facilities in the Mossville area has received from governmental agencies the requisite permits to pollute the air, water, and land.<\/font>
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\nIn recent years, industries have acknowledged that their facilities surrounding Mossville, on average annually, have polluted the air, water, and land with a combined total of approximately two million kilograms (over four million pounds) of toxic chemicals that are scientifically known to cause cancer and damage the immune, respiratory, cardiovascular, nervous, and reproductive systems\u201d\u00a6<\/font>
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\nAlthough the environmental and health agencies of the United States have documented the massive industrial pollution burdens on the Mossville community, as well as residents\u2019 exposure to health-damaging levels of toxic chemicals, these agencies have failed to adequately address this environmental health crisis that denies Mossville residents their fundamental human rights to life, health, and privacy. Furthermore, although the United States government has acknowledged the pervasive pattern of discrimination that subjects Mossville, as well as other African American, Latino, Native American, and Asian American communities throughout the nation, to racially disproportionate toxic pollution burdens, the United States government has failed to protect the human right to freedom from racial discrimination.”<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font>The petitioners believe the disproportionate permitting of polluting facilities in the African American community of Mossville reflects a nationwide pattern in the U.S. of environmental racism.<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The federal government responded to the petition stating that \u201ca clear showing of intentional discrimination based on factors such as race . . .\u201d is required of Mossville petitioners. The petitioners countered stating the mandate of IACHR is the defense of inviolable human rights. In the case Mary and Carrie Dann v. United States<\/em>, IACHR has determined that a violation occurs when \u201ca government\u2019s treatment of a group is distinct from that of another group without a reasonable justification or legitimate objective, and uses means that are disproportionate to the end sought.\u201d<\/font><\/font><\/font><\/font><\/p>\n

The petitioners are demanding that the federal government:
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