Online Archive of University of Virginia Scholarship
Jackson Cleaners Environmental Remediation; Rallying for Remediation: The Struggle for Safe Groundwater in Warren County, North Carolina and Environmental Justice Legacy271 views
Author
Branch, Stephen, School of Engineering and Applied Science, University of Virginia
Advisors
Culver, Teresa, EN-CEE, University of Virginia
Norton, Peter, EN-Engineering and Society, University of Virginia
Abstract
The burdens of environmental health hazards are inequitably distributed. The inequities are due to imbalances of power that leave some communities powerless and consequently vulnerable. Successful remediation efforts therefore require not just site cleanup but also community empowerment.
The capstone team comparatively assessed means of remediating groundwater contamination at the site of a former dry cleaning business in Ypsilanti, Michigan. In the surface-level systems at the site, hazards to humans (who may use it for recreation) and to animals may be severe.
The origins of the environmental justice movement lie in a struggle in Warren County, North Carolina, in the early 1980s. There, organizers took inspiration from the then-recent civil rights movement to associate environmental health with human rights.
School of Engineering and Applied Science
Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering
Technical Advisor: Teresa Culver
STS Advisor: Peter Norton
Technical Team Members: Evan Fee, Hannah Hockensmith, Eva Massarelli, Claire Sharp, Brianna Wright
Language
English
Rights
All rights reserved (no additional license for public reuse)
Branch, Stephen. Jackson Cleaners Environmental Remediation; Rallying for Remediation: The Struggle for Safe Groundwater in Warren County, North Carolina and Environmental Justice Legacy. University of Virginia, School of Engineering and Applied Science, BS (Bachelor of Science), 2024-05-06, https://doi.org/10.18130/qna2-tf55.
