Yvonne Chamberlain-Marquez (Stringfellow Acid Pits)
Stringfellow Acid Pits For those who live in the Inland Empire, the sight of a giant metal woolly mammoth looming over highway 60 is familiar. Dinosaurs and other extinct creatures adorn the hillside, serving as a teaching tool for school children. Many probably have memories from spent time at the Jurupa Cultural Center as kids, learning about Earth Science from founder, Ruth Kirkby. What is seemingly absent from cultural memory is the toxic waste that sits less than a mile away in the Stringfellow Acid Pits. The Acid Pits were once home to over 32 million gallons of toxic chemicals, dumped by numerous corporations and the United States military. The chemicals penetrated through the ground and into the water supply of thousands of residents. During multiple heavy rain events, the pits overflowed sending the waste into neighborhoods and the local elementary school. Residents recalled their children playing in the foaming waste, making beards and throwing snowballs. Though now a...
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