A Community-Engaged Oral History Study as a Tool for Understanding Environmental Justice Aspects of Human Exposures to Hazardous Waste Thermal Treatment Emissions in Colfax, LA

This study investigates environmental justice (EJ) themes related to siting a hazardous waste thermal treatment facility near a low-income community of color. We investigated effects of living near a hazardous waste thermal treatment facility through three EJ aspects: recognitional, procedural, and distributive justice. The study involved the collection of oral history interviews from residents of Colfax, a town in Grant Parish, Louisiana, that hosts an open burn/open detonation hazardous waste thermal treatment facility. The facility processes materials such as munitions, theme park waste, and contaminated soils from Superfund sites, and it increased its volume drastically in 2014. Residents reported adverse health conditions and exposure to air pollutants. We analyzed how the three themes of EJ emerged from the interviews using the NVivo coding software. We recorded narratives that described substantial changes around people\u27s identity, health, and social experiences after the facility\u27s increase in operations. Residents described a peaceful and clean community before the facility\u27s construction in 1980. Some residents stated that the community had not been consulted when the facility was established or when its operations were increased. Colfax residents\u27 narratives jointly relay a proud history of community connections and homeownership that was undermined by environmental health hazards created by the facility and by their exclusion from local and state government decisions about the facility\u27s placement

A Community-Integrated Geographic Information System Study of Air Pollution Exposure Impacts in Colfax, LA

A community-integrated geographic information systems (CIGIS) study assimilating qualitative and quantitative information about human exposures and health was conducted in Colfax, Louisiana, which hosts a commercial open burn/open detonation thermal treatment (TT) facility that destroys waste from Superfund sites, explosives, military ordnances, and propellants. Fifty-eight percent of residents identified as Black, and median annual income was $16,318, with 90% of the population living below the poverty line. We conducted oral history interviews of twenty-nine residents and mined public records to document the community\u27s experiences. Interviews focused on themes of Colfax\u27s history, changing community fabric, resident health, and air pollution. The oral histories and public comments by community members provided information about lived experiences, including several health conditions, toleration of noise and vibration, property damage, and resulting changes to activity levels. These statements provided insight into the extent of suffering experienced by the local community. We also ran dispersion models for dates in 2020 when the waste stream composition, mass, and burn/smoldering times were provided in the facility\u27s public records. The dispersion models placed the air pollution at the homes of residents during some of the time, and waste stream records from the TT facility agree with community testimony about health effects based on the known health effects of those compounds. CIGIS integration of our community-based qualitative data and maps with quantitative air pollution dispersion model output illustrated alignment between community complaints of impacts to health and property, known toxicological information about waste stream compounds, and dispersion model output