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Encyclopedia of Security and Emergency Management pp 1–8Cite as

Human-Made Disasters: Toxic Waste and Residences

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Definition

The issue of toxic waste and residences includes incidents and policies related to the broader environmental justice and antitoxic movements in the United States, including “NIMBY” (Not In My Backyard), health effects, and considerations of environmental racism.

Introduction

On the South Side of Chicago lies a federal housing project, originally created for African-American veterans. Nicknamed the “toxic doughnut,” it has the highest concentration of hazardous waste sites in the nation, being surrounded by 50 landfills and 382 industrial facilities, with 250 leaking storage tanks underground (Cosier 2017). Studies have revealed dangerous levels of toxic chemicals in the area, with the community having the highest cancer rates in the city (Cosier 2017; Taylor 2000; Wenzel 1998). Since industrialization began in modern America, we have seen issues of toxic waste and how it affects communities unfold repeatedly. With the inception of the antitoxic and environmental justice...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Illinois State University, Normal, IL, USA

    Ashley K. Farmer

Authors
  1. Ashley K. Farmer
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Correspondence to Ashley K. Farmer .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Dept of Security, Fire & Emergency Mgmt, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, USA

    Lauren R. Shapiro

  2. Dept. of Security, Fire & Emergency Mgmt, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, New York, NY, USA

    Marie-Helen Maras

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Farmer, A.K. (2019). Human-Made Disasters: Toxic Waste and Residences. In: Shapiro, L., Maras, MH. (eds) Encyclopedia of Security and Emergency Management. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_105-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_105-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-69891-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-69891-5

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Law and CriminologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

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Chapter history

  1. Latest

    Human-Made Disasters: Toxic Waste and Residences
    Published:
    19 November 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_105-2

  2. Original

    Human-Made Disasters: Toxic Waste and Residences
    Published:
    28 September 2018

    DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-69891-5_105-1

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