Your Health and the Environment: Local Government Guide to the Chesapeake Bay

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It’s easy to understand how visible environmental hazards, like an oil spill, pose a risk to human health and safety.

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The connections are less clear when risks are not as visible, such as environmental toxins.

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There are multiple contaminants that put our health at risk each day. Let’s explore a few risks facing Chesapeake Bay watershed communities.

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PFAS and PCBs are known as “persistent organic pollutants,” or POPs, and sometimes PFAS are called “forever chemicals”, because they resist breaking down in nature.

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PFAS & PCBs persist in soils, contaminate streams and groundwater, and bioaccumulate in wildlife and fish.

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A variety of chemicals are used to mitigate for environmental factors.

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Fertilizers provide nutrients for plant growth and pesticides reduce unwanted pests and weeds.

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Improper storage, use or disposal can result in these chemicals making their way into our air, stormwater runoff, local waterways or drinking water sources.

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Microplastics are the tiny fragments, fibers, and microbeads that come from larger plastic litter breaking apart, and they persist in the environment for an extremely long time.

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Microplastics attract disease-causing organisms and chemicals that are dangerous for humans.

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The restoration of the Chesapeake Bay watershed is at an increased risk of failure due to microplastics.

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Air quality directly affects environmental health. Poor air quality has negative impacts for people, our ecosystems, and hampers progress towards meeting Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) goals.

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Adopting green infrastructure solutions helps people and the planet.

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Installing tree barriers, green roofs, urban forests, and roadside vegetative barriers reduces the negative impacts of air pollution.

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Lead is a naturally-occurring element found in the air, water and soil. Lead has some beneficial uses but is toxic to humans and animals.

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Childhood exposure to small amounts of lead is linked to issues in academic performance.

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Wastewater entering local waterways from sewage overflows, nutrient runoff, and system failures impairs the waters of the Bay, endangers fish and wildlife, and puts humans health at risk.

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Environmental degradation does not impact all communities equally. When discussing environmental issues and their implications for human health and safety, it is important to consider how they disproportionately impact poor and marginalized communities.

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According to the NAACP, issues of Environmental Justice are considered Civil Rights issues and, “Communities of color are disproportionately victimized by environmental hazards.”

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While these are just a few environmental health risks facing people across the Chesapeake Bay region, it is important to understand the risks to take action to protect against them.

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As a local leader, you can protect your constituents’ health and the health of your local environment. Visit ProtectLocalWaterways.org to learn more.