The air we breathe: Jan Victor Andasan on how polluted air from ports harms people in surrounding neighborhoods

The environmental and human impact of our global economy is visible in ports, where chemicals, oil, natural gas, and massive containers of goods are moved, shipped, and stored. In this video op-ed, activist Jan Victor Andasan describes how the pollution spewing from these ports, pipelines, refineries, and rail yards contaminates the air of nearby communities, causing long-term health problems for their family and neighbors. Andasan explains how organizations like the East Yard Communities for Environmental Justice advocate for clean air, such as requiring ports to move to zero-waste operations.

Jan Victor Andasan, "Port Pollution Sickens My Family. That's Violence," Los Angeles Times, 21 October 2021.

 

1. Andasan’s op-ed focuses on the working-class communities that surround the container ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. Who lives in these communities? Why is the air so polluted in these neighborhoods? How does the pollution affect the people who live in these communities?
   
2. Andasan makes several strong, vivid claims in their argument. Find a quote from the video or the written op-ed (0:43) that stands out to you. Sandwich that quote using the techniques explained in Chapter 3 and explain why you think this claim is significant.
3. This video, which features the sights and sounds of the ports, freeways, rail yards, and refineries, was produced in response to Andasan’s written op-ed published in the Los Angeles Times. Read this op-ed (0:43). How does hearing and seeing Andasan affect how you respond to the argument? Compare the tone of the written argument and the video argument. Which argument do you find more persuasive? Why?
4. At the end of the video, Andasan responds to the “so what?” question by asking, “Do you think about pollution as violence?” (2:30) Explain what this means in your own words. Who is responsible for the violence? Who gets hurt? Why do you think Andasan chooses to describe pollution as “violence”?

Comments

[Michelle Liu]

I agree with Andasan that port economic activities pose a serious threat to the body of people living nearby. There is no doubt that economic activities play a significant role in the development and competitiveness of the United States. It is common to discover economic communication and corporation in different countries. A massive amount of semi-finished goods and finished products need to be shipped, transported, moved, and stored as inventories. As a result, ports and railways are crucial for contributing to shipments between two distinct points. There are factories near the port as well. However, those economic activities such as ports, pipelines, refineries, and rail yards release large amounts of gases causing serious air pollution. They are harmful to the human body. People experience a wide range of health effects from being exposed to air pollution. Long-term effects of air pollution can last for years or for an entire lifetime. They can even lead to a person's death. Long-term health effects from air pollution include heart disease, lung cancer, and respiratory diseases such as emphysema. Air pollution can also cause long-term damage to people's nerves, brain, kidneys, liver, and other organs. For residential areas that are built near the ports, those harmful gases cause huge damage to the residents through respiration which cannot be reversed if they live there for a long period of time. For example, Andasan and his brother have got asthma. Those people may not have enough capital to move to a higher living environment like new immigrants and low-income classes. Therefore, it is crucial for people who are responsible to take action immediately. In order to prevent more serious damage to residents. The port responsible should import a zero-waste or environmentally friendly scheme as soon as possible to build a clean-air community for the residents nearby. It is suggested to regulate constantly to prevent a lack of follow-up management for those improving schemes. So that the ports are able to be developed a sustainable environment for enhancing economic activities.

[Ellen Bray]

This article is about the amount of port pollution and the damage that it can do. This is mainly a letter to the editor about how their whole neighborhood is getting sick and how it is most likely due to the large amounts of dangerous chemicals that are being inhaled by the people. The author is an immigrant who has lived in the neighborhood for 24 years. They talk about how most of their family has been getting diagnosed with asthma and how there are multiple causes, but the most likely one is port pollution. These ports are also the largest source of pollution in our region. The ports are not trying to reduce the amount of gas they use, so it shows that they are not trying to address the problem.

[Keerthi Ketha]

This is a very important topic to touch on when talking in relation to how the environment truly impacts us and vice versa. The area in which you grow in also has such a huge effect on how you grow up, the health risks you face in the future, and that all comes down to the air you breathe. In the letter written by Andasan, as the reader you can really feel his despair in the way he portrays his experience with how pollution has affected him and his family. Going back to the idea of the environment affecting your lively hood, due to living next to rail yards and refiners, both Andasan and his brother developed asthma. Seeing his brother having to use a nebulizer everyday and then with his mom being diagnosed with adult asthma at 65, it is unfair to witness as it was caused by the pollution that they grew up in. Andasan sharing his story should influence others to take responsibility and do their part to serve their community in preventing this access of pollution that are affecting so many lives, including their own. Even if it is a small act, it will slowly make a difference.

[Laiq Shaiq]

While I understand the fact that the ports were causing discomfort and health issues for many people around the area. I don't agree with Andasan stating that "it is an act of violence". Andasan or any other individual around the area is allowed to freely find another location where they feel comfortable. He chose to stay there knowing the environment was causing him health issues. The ports have been there for 25. we need oil, oil is dependable for everything. Medicine, roads, cables in electrical, glasses, contact lenses, etc. a simple solution for his problem would be to just move.

[Sean Dias]

Overall, I agree with Andasan. The companies that run these ports and refineries should do something to at least reduce the air pollution so that the people living in the residential areas in their nearby radius won’t have to suffer from the resulting health side effects. One of the many things that stood out to me was how throughout Andasan’s childhood, their family would have to check the air to decide whether it was safe to play outside. However, I only agree with the labeling of the issue of air pollution affecting their community as “acts of violence” to a certain extent. It may not be true violence because the companies that produce this air pollution are doing so more from not caring about the surrounding communities, rather than doing so out of a kind of bias that would then define this as true violence. “Business is business” in the eyes of the companies who are not addressing this environmental issue in favor of their profit. However, labelling this issue as an act of violence may be a great way to call attention and awareness from others.
I also wanted to note that I don’t think I agree with some persons in this comment section that are saying that Andasan and their family are choosing to live there despite the local air contamination. It isn’t wrong that some users might be stating this, as it would be a simple solution to just move, but I do want to point out the factor that perhaps the Andasan family might not be able to move to another residential area, which might explain why they’ve lived there for so long. Perhaps their family moved to this location in the first place because it was less expensive to do so with whatever their income they were making at the time of starting a life there. Therefore, they may not be able to move somewhere else because they could still be in that same financial situation. The same scenario might be what other residents have experienced as well. Anyway, I hope that helps to clarify some things. Thanks for sharing, everyone!