Environmental Injustice in Fayetteville, Arkansas: Investigating Unjust and Racist Conditions in Fayetteville\u27s Industrial Park

Environmental racism refers to how minority neighborhoods are burdened with a disproportionate number of environmental hazards and pollution that lower the quality of life and create health disparities. Despite the growing awareness of the national and global problem, environmental injustice and racism can be found in nearly every place. There is little being done regarding policy, public awareness, and government action. The fight for environmental justice is still needed across America, in Arkansas, and in our community. This disciplinary-oriented capstone gives a brief overview of the environmental justice movement and uses publicly available maps and statistics from government and academic agencies to show the correlation between environmental hazards and minority populations at multiple scales. It will present findings that prove people of color are more likely to be exposed to environmental and health hazards in the United States, Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, and the city of Fayetteville. After presenting this data, the area with the most environmental risk in Fayetteville is determined for further investigation. Lastly, environmentally conscious urbanization and reclamation principles are visualized in Fayetteville’s most polluted area to see how it could be transformed into a healthy community

Environmental Injustice in Fayetteville, Arkansas: Investigating Unjust and Racist Conditions in Fayetteville\u27s Industrial Park

Environmental racism refers to how minority neighborhoods are burdened with a disproportionate number of environmental hazards and pollution that lower the quality of life and create health disparities. Despite the growing awareness of the national and global problem, environmental injustice and racism can be found in nearly every place. There is little being done regarding policy, public awareness, and government action. The fight for environmental justice is still needed across America, in Arkansas, and in our community. This disciplinary-oriented capstone gives a brief overview of the environmental justice movement and uses publicly available maps and statistics from government and academic agencies to show the correlation between environmental hazards and minority populations at multiple scales. It will present findings that prove people of color are more likely to be exposed to environmental and health hazards in the United States, Arkansas, Northwest Arkansas metropolitan area, and the city of Fayetteville. After presenting this data, the area with the most environmental risk in Fayetteville is determined for further investigation. Lastly, environmentally conscious urbanization and reclamation principles are visualized in Fayetteville’s most polluted area to see how it could be transformed into a healthy community

Dam Removal in the USA: Effects on River Water Quality

Dam removal decisions should ideally be made after a thorough cost-benefit analysis. If dam obsolescence, structural safety, harm to fisheries, maintenance costs, and reservoir eutrophication are among the primary concerns, decommissioning would likely be favored. On the other hand, dams provide considerable benefits including water storage for agricultural and urban consumption, renewable electricity generation, support of navigational canal systems, flood control, and lakes for recreation. Because of these competing factors and interests, dam removal decision-making in the United States is often a slow process fraught with controversy, as in the case of the Klamath River. Dams provided mechanical water power essential for mills during the Industrial Revolution, notably on the Passaic River (New Jersey). The 1973 demolition of an old industrial dam at Fort Edward (New York) infamously spread toxic polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) downstream in Hudson River sediments, requiring costly remediation and providing a cautionary tale. More recently, carefully planned removals of obsolete dams (on the Cuyahoga, Elwha, and Naugatuck Rivers) were completed without serious environmental impairment, particularly when operators performed a gradual, staged demolition of the dam after the reservoir had been drained. A similarly cautious approach proved successful at the Clark Fork River Superfund site (Montana), even with the serious additional complication of heavily contaminated reservoir sediments requiring removal for off-site disposal. Minor run-of-river dams in urban areas have been removed without significantly affecting sediment contamination levels

Guidelines and Methods for Conducting Porperty Transfer Site Histories

HWRIC Project 90-077NTIS PB91-10508

Novel approaches to modelling and monitoring of heavy metal - contaminated sites

Soil contamination is becoming more prevalent, and with increasing global population, more people are being affected. Contaminated site assessment informs management of contaminant sources, affected soil and groundwater. Inaccuracy of assessment can lead to misclassification of sites, resulting in unnecessary remediation, or failing to remediate where it is required. The research presented in this thesis sought to reduce the risk of misclassification by addressing four key aspects of assessment; sampling, detection, mapping and monitoring. The study sought to refine sample size requirements by estimating the number of samples required to determine if the mean at a site exceeded Australian contamination thresholds. A large number of samples were required, yet this may be unrealistic due to time and cost. Portable X-ray Fluorescence spectroscopy (PXRF) provides real-time analysis of soil heavy metal concentrations, enabling more samples to be collected. There is room for improvement in the accuracy of PXRF measurements, so the study explored the potential of integrating these with spectra obtained from visible-near infrared spectroscopy (vis-NIR). Integration of the two spectral methods provided a measure of precision, yet only a marginal increase in accuracy. To improve mapping methods this study obtained measurements from within the Sydney estuary catchment and integrated these, alongside freely available covariates, into linear mixed models to predict lead and zinc concentrations in soil across the catchment. The final chapter of the thesis combined linear mixed models from two time points to predict change in heavy metal concentrations over time at a remediated Sydney parkland. The models provided a detailed snapshot of heavy metal distributions and factors influencing these distributions over time. It is evident in this thesis that much can be done to improve contaminated site assessment and help ensure land is safe and secured for future generations

Spatial distribution of anthropogenic environmental hazards in the Louisiana coastal zone: implications for ecosystem restoration

The purpose of this project was to assess the spatial distribution of anthropogenic environmental hazards in the Louisiana coastal zone and implications of those hazards for coastal resources and restoration efforts. Several state and federal environmental databases publicly available on the internet were selected for inclusion in this study. The hazard sites were mapped in a Geographic Information System by geocoding addresses obtained from the databases. Sites with unmatched addresses were mapped to zip code centroid. Hazard types in databases lacking spatial data at the address level were totaled and mapped by parish. Buffers were created at 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 mile radii of hazard sites to assess the proximity of state and federal coastal restoration projects and the distribution of Land Use and Land Cover types within the buffers. The federal databases were more comprehensive than the state databases, but the compatibility among all of the databases varied. The most comprehensive database was the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) which, unlike any of the other databases, included chemical names and quantities releases as well as geographic coordinates. The TRI did not contain any toxicity data; therefore outside sources must be consulted to use the data for risk assessment. In general, hazard sites were distributed along major commerce corridors, especially waterways, and near populated areas. Because these hazard types appear to follow human settlement patterns, the cumulative risk posed by these facilities will continue to grow in concert with the growing coastal population. The negative externalities associated with the needs of a growing coastal population stand in stark contrast to coastal restoration efforts in Louisiana and, if left unchecked, may stand as a roadblock to the success of those efforts

Cleaning by Greening: Adaptive Reuse of America's Open-Pit Mines

Surface mines are a common sight in mineral-rich areas. One such area is the Mesabi Iron Range in northern Minnesota. These mines will eventually become abandoned, as many in the eastern United States, as well as many along the Mesabi Iron Range already have. Abandoned surface mines can be hazardous if they are allowed to erode, settle, or even collapse. As the United States becomes increasingly environmentally aware, this research may act as a partial solution to deforestation that occurs to expand our communities near these mines. The mines have already taken out forests, so why not build within them rather than expand further into our wilderness? This thesis will attempt to create a framework to reclaim these mines as symbiotic partner communities to the cities nearby rather than allowing them to sit vacant and deteriorate

Urban Soil Chemical and Nutrient Management Issues Facing Emerging Small Grower Enterprises in Utah

Knowledge of both soil quality and contamination has become increasingly important with the growth of urban agriculture in Utah and the United States as whole. Land is also a common limiting factor in urban agriculture, so it is important to maximize yield and net returns. In order to meet these demands, three studies were conducted across key urban agriculture sites along the Wasatch Front: 1) an urban soil survey to assess soil contamination, 2) an urban soil survey to evaluate macronutrient and salinity levels, and 3) a nitrogen fertilizer management trial for dahlia (Dahlia pinnata), a cut flower crop with strong profit potential on urban microfarms. Urban agriculture sites included 31 farms and community gardens that were sampled from the fall of 2020 to spring of 2021 and analyzed for trace elements and hydrocarbon contamination, along with macronutrient levels and general soil quality parameters. Five nitrogen rates (0, 56,112, 168, and 224 kg ha-1) were tested in field trial for the yield and quality of dahlia ‘Café au Lait’ from 2019 to 2021 at the Utah Agricultural Experiment Station Greenville Research Farm. Urban soils were generally below the EPA regional screening limits (RSL) for trace element and hydrocarbon contaminants. However, the mean arsenic concentration was 17 times higher than the EPA RSL of 0.68 ppm, highlighting the need for a localized screening value to inform management practice. The macronutrient levels were above recommended levels across all surveyed sites, with mean soil test phosphorus three times greater than the recommended limit, indicating the need for nutrient management outreach with small, urban farmers and gardeners. Nitrogen management for dahlia was optimized with 168 kg N ha-1 application rates, though virus pressure impacted yields during the first two years of the study. Optimizing management and yield can provide urban farms with a high-value, non-edible food crop option on soils not suited for food production. Routine soil nutrient testing along with site screening for soil contamination is vital to maintaining long-term health and sustainability in urban agriculture

Superfund: An Assessment of Superfund Site Remedy Selectioin and Implementation

Since its inception in 1980, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) Superfund Program has served as the primary mechanism for coordinating the remediation of sites contaminated with hazardous substances. Although the program has successfully overseen cleanup at hundreds of sites, experts have identified a number of weaknesses in the remedy selection and implementation processes. Our study focuses on two weaknesses that have been identified at individual Superfund sites in the previous literature: Remedy Selection: • Selection of non-permanent remedies over permanent remedies Remedy Implementation: • Inconsistency and non-transparency shown in the documentation of cleanup objectives, site cleanup progress, and problems during remedy implementation Although these weaknesses were well documented in previous literature, our group found little evidence that the underlying cause of these weaknesses had been addressed. Our study adds to the current understanding of these weaknesses by investigating their origins using established policy and engineering systems analysis techniques. We have based our analysis on three Superfund site case studies. We offer several recommendations that address the observed weaknesses in site remedy selection and implementation. Lastly, we include suggestions for areas in which further inquiry may be useful