Letters

There are areas of the country in which polluting chemical plants and refineries are concentrated to such a degree that they pose an extreme health risk to nearby residents. In one stretch along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, the air and water are so polluted that the harm done to the health of residents is such that the area is known as “Cancer Alley.”

Residents of Cancer Alley die at an earlier age than the average American. They die needlessly and leave behind grieving family members and friends. Not surprisingly, these polluting plants and refineries are not located near any gated communities or country clubs, but instead are placed in poor neighborhoods, which are frequently majority Black.

The Biden administration attempted to rectify this injustice by directing the Environmental Protection Agency to force the polluters in these neighborhoods to obey the law and cut back on their toxic emissions.

But Lee Zeldin, President Donald Trump’s choice to head the EPA, has scuttled these efforts, saying that protecting these poor neighborhoods from toxic substances was “forced discrimination.” Apparently, Mr. Zeldin believes that Black folks do not have the same right to clean air and water as the rest of America.

What sort of depraved individual can spout such rubbish?

In case you are thinking, “I don’t live there. Not my problem,” you should be aware of Mr. Zeldin’s other plans for the EPA. He wants to cut back on EPA staffing by 65 percent and has stated that he plans to undo more than two dozen protections against water and air pollution. Apparently, the bottom line of corporate polluters is more important than the health and well-being of millions of Americans. Money trumps health.

We, as Long Islanders, should be particularly concerned about these developments. First, we live in relatively close proximity to New Jersey’s many chemical factories and refineries whose emissions are carried our way by any west wind. Second, we obtain almost all of our water from underground aquifers, which have already been polluted by various substances, including 3M’s so-called “forever chemicals.” (Almost every human being in the world has these chemicals in their body.) Scientists are just now beginning to understand their deleterious effects on human health.

Until now, we could assume that our government was trying to protect our water supply. But under Trump and Zeldin, that is no longer the case. The polluters seem to be winning.

I urge all our government officials, and especially Congressman Nick LaLota, to publicly and vigorously condemn Mr. Zeldin’s actions. Stand up and fight for the clean air and water that we deserve.

John Neely

Westhampton