Joseph Williams Elementary School in Gainesville, Florida, has faced decades of neglect as it sits on a former landfill site, posing significant health risks to students.
Georgia Gee reports for The Intercept.
In short:
- In the late 1950s, a landfill was placed near Joseph Williams Elementary School in East Gainesville, a predominantly Black neighborhood, resulting in ongoing contamination.
- Soil and air tests have revealed hazardous levels of toxins, including a carcinogen found at levels 218 times higher than safe limits, yet comprehensive cleanup efforts have been lacking.
- Despite partial soil removal, neither state nor local authorities have committed to fully addressing the site’s toxicity or its impact on students' health.
Key quote:
“It used to be an ongoing joke in our neighborhood, we are all gonna die from cancer because the dump site was right there between Lincoln and Williams Elementary. Well, guess what happened?”
— Wayne Fields, long-time resident.
Why this matters:
The situation at Williams Elementary signifies a broader issue of environmental racism, where lower-income communities of color face greater exposure to toxic environments, leading to adverse health outcomes such as cancer and asthma. Read more: Pennsylvania’s first proposed hazardous waste landfill would be near homes and schools.
