Mapping the Health Risks of New York Harbor Anglers Through Ecologic and Human Systems
Background
Populations that rely heavily on fishing in local New York waters are exposed to harmful chemicals. Many are unaware of or unpersuaded by the dangers. The people who are at the receiving end of these contaminants and health risks are not the same people who have influence in the economic sphere, which is a driver of many of the industrial processes that introduce pollution into the environment. These anglers and their families are the ones in greatest need of help, yet the circumstances end up creating the highest level of adversity for them.
Social, cultural, political, economic, and ecological systems are all at play in influencing the health of New York Harbor and the New Yorkers who rely on it for their livelihood. In New York there are census tracts whose median incomes range from among the lowest to the very highest in the country within 30 short blocks of each other. Greenpoint and Williamsburg, Brooklyn have high poverty rates and rich cultural backgrounds, two factors that lead to increased risk of exposure to contamination from fish for different reasons.
Greenpoint/Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Combined Sewer Overflow (CSO) dumping untreated water into Newtown Creek
Greenpoint & Williamsburg are home to:
An underground oil spill 3 times the size of the Exon-Valdez disaster
he Newtown Creek wastewater treatment plant
The Newtown Creek Superfund site
1 Radioactive storage facility
30 Extremely hazardous waste storage facilities
17 Petroleum storage facilities
96 Above-ground oil storage tanks
The Brooklyn-Queens Expressway
Neighborhood Overview:
35.7% Live below the poverty line.
The median household income is $16,409, which is $10,000 less than the Brooklyn average.
The average Greenpoint/Williamsburg angler will catch between 40 and 75 fish per week, and each of their family members eat an average of 9.5 fish per week.
The top four species caught were on fishing health advisory lists.
Greenpoint/Williamsburg has the largest portion of land dedicated to industry in NYC (12%). The NYC Average is 1.9%.
Systems Maps
Map of the flow of pollutants through the New York Harbor and economic systems.
Map of the influences that affect New York residents' decisions to fish in New York's polluted harbor.