Legacy Toxics Community Testing

Presented By Perez Paul

This Movement Is Currently
In The Fundraising Stage.

🏭 THE POISON BENEATH OUR FEET: AMERICA’S TOXIC LEGACY

Decades of industrial activity have left a toxic legacy in communities across America, with contamination often undocumented, untested, and unremediated:

• 450,000+ brownfield sites with potential contamination nationwide

• Legacy pollutants persist decades after industrial activities ended

• Many contaminated sites lack documentation or responsible parties

• Testing costs prohibitive for many affected communities

• Environmental justice communities disproportionately impacted

• Health impacts including elevated cancer rates, developmental issues, and chronic conditions

• Property values depressed by known or suspected contamination

• Limited technical capacity within affected communities

• Regulatory agencies understaffed for comprehensive site identification

• Private testing prohibitively expensive for most residents

Without accessible testing programs, many communities live with suspected but unconfirmed contamination affecting health, property values, and quality of life.

OUR COMMUNITY-LED TESTING SOLUTION

Our proposed legislation would establish a comprehensive program with five key components:

✅ COMMUNITY ENVIRONMENTAL TESTING PROGRAM

• Accessible soil and water testing services for potentially affected communities

• Mobile testing laboratories serving multiple communities

• Standardized testing protocols ensuring reliable results

• Professional sampling assistance maintaining chain of custody

• Culturally appropriate outreach ensuring representative participation

• Tiered testing approach starting with screening then detailed analysis

• Quality assurance protocols ensuring defensible results

• Integration with existing state and federal databases

• Biomonitoring options for communities with elevated exposure risk

• Pet and wildlife testing establishing ecosystem impacts

✅ TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE & CAPACITY BUILDING

• Environmental health navigators working directly in communities

• Training programs for community members in basic testing protocols

• Data interpretation assistance making results meaningful

• Remediation options education for various contamination types

• Grant writing assistance accessing cleanup resources

• Technical document translation into accessible language

• Expert consultation connecting communities with specialists

• Community science program development

• Academic partnerships extending technical capacity

• Health risk communication training for local leaders

✅ INFORMATION RESOURCES & TRANSPARENCY

• Public database of all testing results with geographic mapping

• Historical industrial activity documentation by location

• Health risk information specific to identified contaminants

• Regulatory standards and health benchmarks explanation

• Searchable interface accessible to non-technical users

• Multiple language access ensuring information equity

• Responsible party identification when available

• Property history research assistance

• Community right-to-know education programs

• Plain language summaries of technical findings

✅ REMEDIATION PLANNING SUPPORT

• Cleanup options analysis for identified contamination

• Cost estimation for various remediation approaches

• Funding source identification for cleanup projects

• Technical specification development for remediation

• Prioritization frameworks for multi-site communities

• Interim exposure reduction measures pending cleanup

• Green remediation approaches minimizing secondary impacts

• Long-term monitoring program development

• Phased cleanup planning maximizing health protection

• Redevelopment integration ensuring sustainable outcomes

✅ LEGAL & ADVOCACY RESOURCES

• Environmental justice legal clinics providing representation

• Responsible party research assistance

• Regulatory agency coordination support

• Public hearing and comment facilitation

• Community benefit agreement development

• Insurance claim research for historical policies

• Property owner rights education

• Environmental disclosure requirement education

• Cleanup order advocacy with regulatory agencies

• Legislative advocacy training for systemic reform

IMPLEMENTATION APPROACH

The legislation would establish a $350 million annual program implemented through the EPA’s Office of Environmental Justice with strong community governance:

• Community-led governance board ensuring program responsiveness

• Priority for environmental justice communities with documented disparities

• Integration with existing EPA and state environmental programs

• Collaborative approach engaging multiple stakeholders

• Emphasis on actionable results leading to remediation

• Regular assessment ensuring program effectiveness

• Continuous improvement based on community feedback

• Knowledge sharing across affected communities

• Development of best practices for community testing programs

• Regular congressional reporting on implementation progress

Our coalition includes environmental justice organizations, public health advocates, community development groups, environmental scientists, and legal experts committed to identifying and addressing toxic legacies affecting communities nationwide.

🌱 TESTING • TRANSPARENCY • TRANSFORMATION 🌱

Your support will help communities uncover the hidden contamination affecting health and well-being—providing the essential first step toward cleanup, accountability, and revitalization in neighborhoods living with the toxic legacy of our industrial past.