Pollution in DC rivers at the intersection of environmental and racial injustice
Washington, D.C. Attorney General Karl Racine is suing Velsicol Chemical for decades of manufacturing and distribution of the carcinogen chlordane even though the company knew of its risks to human and environmental health. The lawsuit says studies have linked long-term exposure to chlordane to liver cancer, as well as miscarriages, depression and bone-marrow diseases. Shorter-term exposure, it says, has been linked to blurred vision, headaches, tremors and insomnia, among other central nervous system symptoms. Flanked by environmentalists and representatives of the local NAACP, Racine (D) said at a news conference that the effects of Velsicol Chemical’s alleged contamination particularly hit “low-income Black and Brown” residents, in a case that bridges environmental and racial justice.