The first thing I noticed in South Park was an odd smell in the air, ametallic kick in the back of the throat that reminded me of somethingthat I just couldn't quite put my finger on. Something I had smelledbefore somewhere . . . Strolling down the sidewalks on a sunny Julymorning, we saw well-kept houses and gardens. Representatives from theDept of Ecology, the Seattle/King County Public Health Dept., the EPA,and I were on a "Toxic Tour" of South Park, a low-income neighborhoodof Seattle, led by Yolanda Sinde of the Community Coalition forEnvironmental Justice (CCEJ). The community borders the very pollutedDuwamish River. Despite warning signs, children still play in theriver on hot days.

Long Painting Company moved in to its South Park facility in 1972.There is no buffer, no green belt, between the Long Painting facilityand peoples' homes. Soon after the painting facility opened, residentsstarted complaining of noise, odors, itching, headaches, a metallictaste in the mouth upon wakening, sinus, and other problems typicallycaused by prolonged exposure to toxic chemicals found in paints.Doctors advised some people to leave and move elsewhere. Yolanda toldus that residents begged the corporation and City Hall to do somethingabout this for decades, to no avail. Even though the area is zoned"residential", the company did what it wanted. For five years, CCEJhas led a campaign of letterwriting and testimony at public hearings.In 2001, activists finally convinced the city to enforce its ownzoning laws. Long Painting announced that due to constant publicpressure, it would move. CCEJ is now working with a group called HomeSite to build low-income housing here after demolition of the facilityis completed.

"But when a community is cleared up, property values go up. Is thisgoing to force out the poor who you're trying to help?" somebodyasked. Yolanda said CCEJ is working for a provision that will assessreal property value increases at no more than 10%, which should helpkeep rents affordable.

Then we walked over to the Interstate Coatings facility. Semis lumberdown the street, bump over potholes, and stir up dust. Kids play onthis street. I couldn't help but get the feeling that an accident iswaiting to happen here. Then it struck me. I remembered I had smelledthis odor around Tijuana and Nogales. It was the sour, solvent,exhausty smell of a maquiladora. Contaminants of concern at theInterstate Coatings site include lead, arsenic, chromium, and benzenein the air and soil.

Then we walked past the Basin Oil Facility. Even though industry islegally prohibited from buying residential property for industrialuse, it still happens. That's why Basin Oil can be sit right next doorto senior citizens' homes. Chemicals of concern from this activityinclude an array of VOCs in the air and soil. There are rumors of acancer cluster in South Park, but so far CCEJ hasn't been able tosubstantiate this. This will require some coordination with the KingCounty Health Department.

How did CCEJ get involved?

"Our organizing starts by going door-to-door and making personalcontact with residents. We ask them what their biggest environmentalconcerns are. Organizing is not about coming in with an agenda andsolutions. It's about listening. That's the most important part ofbeing an organizer: listening. You are a vehicle, an assistant, notthe leader. You are an enabler. You need the stay-at-home Moms, wholive in the impacted community. You need to enable people to be theleaders. You need to provide the copying machines, the FAX machines,the places where people can meet, discuss, and work out their ownsolutions. At best, you are a guide."

CCEJ depends on volunteers who work the bucket brigades. A "bucket" isan air-sampling device consisting of a cleaned-out paint bucket, abag, and some tubes. It takes about $250 to put one of these together.Trained volunteers show residents how to use them, and then the bag isthen sent to a lab for air sample analysis. One of the main principlesof the group is that working class people, indigenous peoples andpeople of color must be in the leadership.

CCEJ was formed in 1994 to examine environmental racism in Seattle.Hazel Wolf, a veteran environmental activist and leader right up toher 100th birthday, helped get this organization going. The mission ofCCEJ is to help people who are affected by environmental problems towork out community-based solutions and to empower low-income people tomake decisions on environmental issues which directly affect them.CCEJ's first victory in Seattle was in 1998, when they stopped the Veteran's Hospital from burning PVC plastics, asource of dioxins.

CCEJ is currently working for an "Our Space" ordinance to prohibit thefuture siting and construction of high-impact industrial facilitiesfrom locating in low-income residential areas like South Park andGeorgetown. For more information on CCEJ, go to www.ccej.org

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