10 signatures reached
To: US Congressman Ted Budd
Environmental Justice For East Burlington
The Western Electric plant site located in Burlington, North Carolina contains hazardous contaminants that affect the livelihood of predominantly Black and Brown neighborhoods within close proximity to it. This petition serves the purpose of drawing attention to the need for and demanding change in East Burlington living conditions. A 2019 Cone Health assessment states there is an eleven year life expectancy disparity from the "neighborhood around the old Western Electric factory on the east side of Burlington" (71.6 years) to four miles west (83.3 years), the highest in the city. The City of Burlington, its mayor and city council assume little to no responsibility to the residents in East Burlington, passing the buck to the private owner of the Western Electric site, and the US Army for cleanup. Currently, "demolition" is haphazardly taking place with air ducts visibly on the ground outside of front buildings and the wind blows its contents about the general area surrounding the plant. Persons doing the "demolition" do not wear protective gear. Groundwaters are suspected to be contaminated due to waterflow from the Western Electric site into streams behind and alongside houses on Hilton and Cobb Streets. There are five barrels with unknown contents (to this petitioner) in an vacant lot on Graham-Hopedale Road directly across the street from Western Electric where its former employee parked. We, residents of Burlington, demand answers about how our well-being will receive health conscious and equitable accomodations from governmental entities to improve our quality of life and life expectancy.
Why is this important?
Excerpt from a September 9, 2021 NC Policy Watch article written by Lisa Sorg titled, "Former Army missile plant in Burlington poses 'an urgent public health risk'":
"This was a scene in early May. From the outside, little had changed from last November, when city, state and Army officials, as well as the current property owner, David Tsui, visited the plant in preparation for the next phase of the cleanup.
Sagging ceilings and collapsed roofs. Unmarked and overturned 55-gallon barrels of waste, one marked 'suspect soil.' Gaping pits and open storm drains that lead to the city sewer system. Nearly all of the two dozen buildings had fallen into disrepair, state records show.
More than a quarter-century ago, the city and the military hoped that if the property were sold to a private owner it could be cleaned up and redeveloped more quickly. By working in tandem, officials thought at the time, private and public interests could make the plant useful, to the benefit of the neighborhood and the entire city.
That never happened."
Plain and simple, we, residents of Burlington, North Carolina, need our Black and Brown voices amplified to save our lives from environmental injustices. This is a petition for systemic change, a call for collective action.
"This was a scene in early May. From the outside, little had changed from last November, when city, state and Army officials, as well as the current property owner, David Tsui, visited the plant in preparation for the next phase of the cleanup.
Sagging ceilings and collapsed roofs. Unmarked and overturned 55-gallon barrels of waste, one marked 'suspect soil.' Gaping pits and open storm drains that lead to the city sewer system. Nearly all of the two dozen buildings had fallen into disrepair, state records show.
More than a quarter-century ago, the city and the military hoped that if the property were sold to a private owner it could be cleaned up and redeveloped more quickly. By working in tandem, officials thought at the time, private and public interests could make the plant useful, to the benefit of the neighborhood and the entire city.
That never happened."
Plain and simple, we, residents of Burlington, North Carolina, need our Black and Brown voices amplified to save our lives from environmental injustices. This is a petition for systemic change, a call for collective action.