The Explosive Truth: Health Survey on East Palo Alto

You Think You Know...

But You Have No Idea

The Diary of Our Health A Community Health Survey Report Youth United for Community Action East Palo Alto, CA August 2005

COVER PAGE

You Think You Know...But You Have No Idea The Diary of Our Health: East Palo Alto Brought to you by Youth United for Community Action (YUCA) Health Survey Team

Erica Martinez

Mercedes White

Melvin Gaines

WHO WE ARE The Health Survey Team (HS) is a component within YUCA (Youth United for Community Action). YUCA is an organization led and run by young people of color working on environmental and social justice issues affecting our East Palo Alto community. From 2003 to 2004, we conducted a health survey to find a link between the toxic exposures and our community’s health. We collected 760 surveys and this report is the analysis from the data we collected.

Anthony Solorio

Nirav Prasad

Freddy Ochoa

Introduction..............................................PG 1

ts: The People we Interviewed........................PG 2

en t n

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Is EPA Healthy?........................................PG 3 Asthma Rates ...........................................PG 4 Cancer.....................................................PG 5 Our Home: Special Photo Essay.............. PG 6-7 Where’s Yo Head At? .............................PG 9 Allergies.................................................PG 10 Wordz from da streets............................. PG 11 Useful Resources.....................................PG 12 Methodology/ Thanks.............................PG 13 Conclusion..............................................PG 14

Introduction

an unhealthy g in be of on ti ta pu a re East Palo Alto has ts suffering from en d si re s it of y n a community with m , and cancer. es gi er ll a , a m h st a s ch a health problems su

East Palo Alto also suffers from many environmental problems, like ground water contamination, contaminated land, air pollution and corporate polluters. These hazardous problems could all be negatively affecting peoples’ health.

FACTORS ROMIC is an example of a corporate polluter that could be negatively impacting the health of many of our citizens. ROMIC recycles hazardous wastes, many of which are carcinogenic (cancer-causing). Over the years ROMIC has committed many violations that could be harming the health of EPA residents. For instance, they discharged cyanide into the ground water in 1995, discharged nitrosodimethylamine into the water system 4 times in 1999, had fires in 1999, as well as contaminated East Palo Alto’s groundwater by failing to collect rain runoff up until the early 90’s. In April 2005, Romic was fined $849,500 by the state Department of Toxic Substances Control for 6 years of violations -- ranging from exceeding their capacity of storing hazardous waste to combining incompatible waste next to each other. On top of all this, ROMIC has yet to complete their Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which is supposed to show the impact that ROMIC’s operation has on our community.

As well as ROMIC, there are many other factors that can affect peoples’ health such as the concrete batch plant and traffic. The concrete batch plant is an example of another company that has negatively impacted the people’s health.

Disturbing results from the survey, such as 26% Crystalline silica is a chemical that the of youth ages 13-21 having asthma, as well as the plant works with, and basically it’s a health concerns listed above, enforced the need colorless, odorless, substance that can cause many harmful problems to the for a larger-scale assessment of East Palo Alto’s lungs. Traffic is a serious problem, especially in the city of EPA. The problem health status to occur. is not just the daily commuters, but the fact that some of these vehicles that commute to and from EPA are 18-wheel trucks. These 18-wheel trucks give off many kinds of toxic chemicals that are very harmful to the lungs. As a result, health problems are most likely triggered by these factors.

HEALTH SURVEY In the summer of 2002, YUCA did a small-scale pilot health survey of East Palo Alto targeting youth from ages 13-21. Disturbing results from the survey, such as 26% of youth ages 13-21 having asthma, as well as the health concerns listed above, enforced the need for a larger-scale assessment of East Palo Alto’s health status to occur.

The Health Survey Team developed and conducted a much broader health survey targeting everyone in East Palo Alto. The goal of this Health Survey was to assess the health status of East Palo Alto residents as well as determine whether or not there are any links between toxic exposure and peoples’ health. 760 surveys have been collected in all of East Palo Alto,representing different parts of the community. The data has been analyzed.

THIS IS US REPORTING BACK TO YOU!!! Pay close attention.

Does our information reflect our community? YES! We paid close attention to making sure that the data we collected reflects our community of East Palo Alto.

As you will see, our health survey participants are: • 94% people of color • 48% male and 48% female • 58% under the age of 35, 36% 36 years old and over • 74% spend 10 or more hours in East Palo Alto • 65% have lived in East Palo Alto for 10 or more years

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Is East Palo Alto Healthy?

How can you tell if your community is healthy? Healthy has been defined as the well being of a person’s mind, body, and spirit. For our purpose “healthy” is the well being of a person’s physical health as well as their environment. This definition is directed to both individuals and our city as a whole. Healthy people are people who are free from disease. A healthy city is a city free from hazards that negatively affect peoples’ health.

Is East Palo Alto healthy? Are people in East Palo Alto free from disease? Is East Palo Alto a city that is free from hazards that negatively impact peoples’ health? The answers to these questions are no. According to our definition East Palo Alto is not a healthy community!

Air Quality

55% of people in EPA said that the air quality in EPA is at least fair,poor or very poor. (14% said it was poor,5% said very poor). *According to the National Asthma Education Program, outdoor pollutants cause allergens and other irritants that cause asthma. (1) As you’ll see a few on the next page, asthma is a major problem in EPA.

48% of the people in East Palo Alto report that the air in their community smells like smoke (NOT CIGARETTE,BBQ NOR MARIJUANA) daily or weekly, with 31% reported smelling smoke daily.

Smoke Smoke

* According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, smoke is a major source of air polllution that negatively affects both peoples’ health, and the environment. (2) Sources: (1) www.asthma.co.za (2) www.baaqmd.gov;

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Got Oxygen?

Asthma

From the reported ailments, asthma is most affected by inhaling air. Higher rates of pollution result in higher chances of asthma attacks.

14.2% of people we surveyed in East Palo Alto suffer from asthma compared to 6.7% of the people who suffer from asthma in San Mateo County.This means one in seven people in EPA have asthma.

People with Asthma are also affected with pollutants: ♦ 52% of people with asthma in EPA smell smoke daily or weekly ♦ 54% of people with asthma in EPA smell exhaust daily or weekly ♦ Frequent exposures to these pollutants could be a major factor contributing to high rates of asthma.

A Lil’ Fact: 14%

of the people we surveyed say that the air causes them to experience negative health effects.

Ex: dizziness, coughing, gagging, choking, etc.

This is a direct relation between environmental status and people’s health!

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The Data to the right reveals that most people with asthma in EPA are long term residents of this city ♦ 10% of the people with asthma have lived in EPA for 1-5 years ♦ 12% of the people who have asthma have lived in EPA for 5-10 years ♦ 12% of the people with asthma have lived in EPA for 10-15years ♦ 65% of the people with asthma lived in EPA for 15+ years

Considering the amount of people with asthma who are long term EPA residents, as well as the listed exposure to pollutants such as smoke and exhaust of people with asthma, there is much evidence that long tenure in EPA and exposure to its environmental conditions is contributing to the asthma rate in East Palo Alto.

*SMC asthma stats from the California Health Interview Survey

CANCER 3% of People in East Palo Alto have cancer.

That means 1 in 32 residents suffer from cancer.

Out of this percentage, 88% have lived in EPA for 10 or more years.

71% of people in East Palo Alto who suffer from cancer are African-American.

54% of people in East Palo Alto who suffer from cancer are women.

100% of People who have cancer report being exposed to pollutants at least on a weekly basis. * From this, it is apparent that the majority of people with cancer are being exposed to some form of unhealthy air. Everyone in East Palo Alto with cancer reports being exposed to either smoke, exhaust, ammonia, burnt rubber, or diesel fuel on at least a weekly basis. Some are exposed to these pollutants on a daily basis.

32% of people with Cancer are exposed to diesel several times per day.

52% of people with cancer are exposed to diesel fumes on at least a daily basis.

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Our streets show pain as they try to maintain the things they stand on one hand commute on the other polluted trucks pass by as the road cracks dry, rain washes the dirt away like tears.

Why cry my town is my town and it will stay number one sky high.

We changed the meaning of the word “try�

So take a look at these pictures as we bring out the truth and capture the lies.

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CANCER

(Continued) 3% of males who live in East Palo Alto suffer from cancer compared to 0.5% of the males who suffer from cancer in San Mateo County. This means 1 in 33 males in East Palo Alto.

Out of the males who suffer from cancer in East Palo Alto, 64% are African American.

5% of African American males in East Palo Alto suffer from cancer compared to 0.59% of African American males in San Mateo County. This means 1 in 17 African American males in East Palo Alto suffer from cancer.

3.5% of females who live in East Palo Alto suffer from cancer compared to 0.4% of the females who suffer from cancer in San Mateo County. This means 1 in 28 females in East Palo Alto.

Out of the females who suffer from cancer in East Palo Alto, 69% are African American.

5.4% of African American females in East Palo Alto suffer from cancer compared to 0.38% of African American females in San Mateo County.

This means 1 in 18 African American females in East Palo Alto suffer from cancer.

East Palo Alto’s cancer rates among People of color are dramatically higher than the rates of San Mateo County and any other city in the county!

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*SMC cancer stats from Northern California Cancer Center

WHERE’S YO' HEAD AT???

Dizziness is not a respiratory problem. However inhalation of pollutants can cause dizziness. Our data shows EPA residents who suffer from dizziness are exposed to pollutants on a normal (daily- weekly) basis.

A FEW FACTS:

175 (23%) people we surveyed suffer from headaches and/or dizziness .This means 1 in 4 people in East Palo Alto suffer from headaches or dizziness.

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49% of people who suffer from headaches and dizziness smell exhaust on a daily or weekly basis.

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56% of people who suffer from headaches and/or dizziness smell smoke on a daily or weekly basis.

From the information above on dizziness, it is very likely that exhaust and smoke are playing a major role in the reported dizziness rates.

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31% of the people we surveyed have allergies On the Daily.... √ 33% of the people with allergies smell sewage daily √ 74% of the people with allergies smell smoke daily √ 93% of the people with allergies smell exhaust daily

Smoke and exhaust are both very harmful to people’s respiratory health.

Exposure to these pollutants appears to be a factor causing allergic reactions. According to Personal Health, airborne contaminants are the source of many allergic reactions, including hay fever. The majority of people with allergies smell smoke and exhaust on a daily to weekly basis.

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wn! o d h ealt

up, h s n o i ndit o c roblems p c p o fi t f e h t a •Tr nce are le io V d n a •Drugs Alto in East Palo •Our City needs money.

•My heart hurts when I breathe.

•The cancer death rate is high in Ea st Palo Alto •Fix our streets •Racist police •Poor Education

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Useful Resources Health Services

Ravenswood Family Health Clinic 1798A Bay Road, East Palo Alto, CA 94303 (650)330-7400

Drew Hea1th Center

2111 University Avenue, East Palo Alto, CA 94303 (650)328-1619

Community Organizations/ Advocacy YUCA

Ujima Security Council

East Palo Alto Environmental Justice Resource Team for Air Quality

East Palo Alto Asthma Task Force

2135 Clarke Avenue East Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.youthunited.net (650) 322-9165

c/o: Community Development Institute 321 Bell Street, East Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.cdi-usa.org (650) 327-5846

Government Agencies City Council

(The City Council meets the first and third Tuesday of each month at 7:30 pm in the Council Chambers) 2415 University Ave East Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.ci.east-palo-alto.ca.us/ citycouncil/

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1111 Beech Street East Palo Alto, CA 94303 (650) 321-1009

c/o: Ravenswood Family Health Center 1798A Bay Road, East Palo Alto, CA 94303 (650)330-7400

Bay Area Air Quality Management District

(If you are concerned because you smell a strong odor in your neighborhood, or see a lot of dust or smoke, call 1-800-334-ODOR (24 Hour Toll Free).

939 Ellis Street San Francisco, CA 94190 www.baaqmd.gov

Methodology: (How we did the health survey) To develop the health survey, YUCA worked with Youth In Focus, an intermediary organization that trains organizations to do youth-led research, to assist us with specialized training on the design and implementation of the Community Health Survey. Youth In Focus conducted trainings, provided input on the Pilot Health Survey, and provided a research-training manual for the design and implementation of the Community Health Survey. YUCA also worked closely with Goro Mitchell from Community Development Institute to help the health survey team in training on the use of Geographical Information System (GIS). The GIS program will be used to analyze and display the information gathered from the Community Health survey. We also sought input from two epidemiologists from Santa Cruz University and from Alameda County.

To build capacity to implement the health phase of the campaign, YUCA youth developed and finalized a pilot health survey targeting high school aged youth of East Palo Alto. YUCA youth also revised the training they received from Youth In Focus and trained youth volunteers to help collect surveys! By the end of the summer, 275 health surveys were collected and 10 new youth were trained! HL youth then analyzed the data and evaluated the process to plan for the larger Community Health Survey.

To create the health survey, YUCA youth were trained in scope development, measurement of health and identifying indicators; creating a community map to help identify what items the health survey map of East Palo Alto should include; and instrument design to decide what types of questions appeared on the health survey. To collect data, YUCA youth canvassed the five neighborhoods in East Palo Alto through door to door knocking. Between May and November 2003, 45 youth collected 760 health surveys by going door to door, and at local non-profit and community centers! YUCA youth and staff then analyzed the data using the Microsoft Access, Excel, and Geographical Information System (GIS).

YUCA would like to thank the following individuals, groups and organizations for their assistance to us along this process:

* Our Community of East Palo Alto * California Wellness Foundation * College Track * Communities for a Better Environment (CBE)/Kids Against Environmental Pollution * Community Development Institute (CDI)- Goro Mitchell * Dr. Lori Frosch (Brown University) * East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring Program * GreenAction * Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition (SVTC) * Terry Valen * Urban Habitat - Bhavna Shamasunder * Youth In Focus - Craig Martinez * Translations (YUCA) - Larissa Flores, Oscar Flores, Angel Luna, Dalisai Nisperos, and Francisco Preciado

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