Super Blog 2 Exide Battery Plant Kevin Francisco Pena

     The research into this project has presented more information on how events such as the lead contamination in the city of Vernon have become frequent parts of history due to the practices of redlining that still impact Angelenos till this day. The new deals that Roosevelt produced during the great depression included red lining which was put into practice by the Home Owners Loan Corporation. By 1934 the National Housing Act passed which prompted the HOLC to survey neighborhoods in 239 cities. They would base ranking systems in these neighborhoods from the best to live and invest in to the worst investment and place to live. These areas were ranked A being the best and color coated on a map as green whereas the worst areas were colored in red and given a D rating. 

Gibbons, et al. “Los Angeles Land Covenants, Redlining; Creation and Effects.” Los Angeles Land Covenants, Redlining; Creation and Effects, 22 June 2020, lapl.org/collections-resources/blogs/lapl/los-angeles-land-covenants-redlining-creation-and-effects.

       These practices affected many non white American communities there were not given fair loans or none at all which in return kept these communities of color from prospering economically. The racism behind this practice is apparent on the map itself and was a result of trying to keep different communities of color away from white communities. The idea was that A rated areas would be where white Americans would inhabit where as the areas with more minorities or those that were "mixed" which was different ethnic communities living amongst one another were always perceived as a high risk loan investment and given a lower rating. This resulted into a more systemic approach to establishing racist practices which were authorized by the Federal Housing Administration and implemented by the Home Owners Loan Corporation. It also continued overtime with different corporations and investors adopting the practice. According to Ryan Raft in his KCET article that covers the history of red lining in Los Angeles the FHA and HOCLA together established a caste system of race and ethnicity. He explains that this system was set up to allow other non white americans to climb up the social ladder by having the right features and skin tone that was more white rather than African Americans and Asian Americans which were considered subversive. A good example he provides is the suburbs of Claremont which was considered more influenced by white mexicans therefore giving it a higher rating of C than its neighbor the San Gabriel Wash community which was more Mexican with a "darker" skin tone and rural community that raised goats and chickens receiving a low D rating.

 Reft, Ryan. “Segregation in the City of Angels: A 1939 Map of Housing Inequality in L.A.” KCET, 2 Feb. 2021, www.kcet.org/shows/lost-la/segregation-in-the-city-of-angels-a-1939-map-of-housing-inequality-in-l-a.

  To get more of a modern view on the lasting effects of redlining in Los Angeles Grace Schumaker created a project where he was able to display the disparities of air pollution that exist in C and D areas that are a result of the redline practices. One particular contaminant he researches is PM 2.5  which can cause lung, heart diseases and prove to be fatal. This air pollution is the result of vehicle emissions that are released when driving by the freeways that cut through most of the neighborhoods that consist of the C and D ratings that carry on from the New Deal era. Another interesting analysis that Schumaker points out is the median income disparities that exist in these areas and the large amount of renters that exist due to inabilities to get a loan for a home. This only reinforces the idea that redlining is more of a systematic issue that needs to be addressed for any change to occur in these communities of color. I will provide the link to Grace Schumaker project so you can see for yourself the data he was able to retrieve and piece together.

Lasting Effects: Redlining in Los Angeles County. Grace Schumaker, Dec. 2019, https://sites.tufts.edu/gis/files/2020/07/schumaker_grace_GIS101_Fall2019.pdf

Now that some context has been provided into the history of redlining it can explain in greater detail why events such as the lead contamination caused by the Exide Battery Plant came to be in the first place. As early as 2002 the Exide battery Plant located in the city of Vernon came under investigation by the Department of Toxic Substances Control. The reports by the DTSC came to show that Exide had committed 24 violations against California's Hazardous Waste Control Law. Due to this it would be fined about $70,000 per day until it met the requirements, the DTSC also asked the attorney general to reject the  Non Persecution Agreement. If not revoked the Exide company and its agents are free from legal prosecutions for any violations committed such as the illegal storage, disposal, shipment and transportation of hazardous waste that were related to the Exide battery plant in the city of Vernon.

Heres a link of Exide's investigation report:

https://www.envirostor.dtsc.ca.gov/public/final_documents2?global_id=80001733&doc_id=60447509

California, State of. “DTSC Intervenes After Exide Fails to Fully Investigate Contamination.” Department of Toxic Substances Control, 23 July 2019, dtsc.ca.gov/2019/07/19/dtsc-intervenes-after-exide/.

    To conclude with the findings on the many violations that Exide produced in Vernon and the impact its carelessness has had on the surrounding communities is the main reason I have decided to take up this project. Seeing the effect on health the industrial city of Vernon has had on my community is one that affects me on a personal level. Another reason I would like to raise more awareness to this sad tale is the injustice that follows with it. As of October 2020 Exide corporation no longer exists and is therefore no longer liable to pay the damages its company has caused to the communities that surround Vernon. With Los Angeles tax payers already investing $270 million towards cleaning up the toxic spill according to the Los Angeles Times Exide has been given the opportunity to wake away unscathed from the damage its lead spill has caused to the environment. 

“Court Allows Exide to Abandon a Toxic Site in Vernon. Taxpayers Will Fund the Cleanup.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 16 Oct. 2020, www.latimes.com/california/story/2020-10-16/exide-bankrtuptcy-decision-vernon-cleanup.