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Hazmat Storage Near Nyc Waterways Endangers Communities, Brett E. Dahlberg, Nicole Acevedo

Capstones

New York City has 520 miles of shoreline--that’s more than Miami and Los Angeles combined. These waterfronts are home to some of the city’s most polluted sites because major part of it is zoned for industrial use. Dozens of industrial plants in this area store toxic chemicals in flood zones: substances that are hazardous to our health, like Benzene, which is used in rocket fuel, toluene, a paint thinner, and lead a neurotoxin. In a flood, these chemicals can easily get caught up in moving waters and pollute entire neighborhoods.

That’s exactly what happened when Hurricane Sandy hit in 2012. …