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What quotes from this text are exemplary or particularly evocative?

annika
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“...Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty (Bullard et al., 2007) revealed that communities of colour and poor communities were still being used as dumping grounds for all kinds of toxic contaminants. The authors discovered evidence that the clustering of environmental hazards, in addition to single sources of pollution, presented significant threats to communities of colour. Furthermore, the research showed that polluting industries frequently singled out communities of colour in siting decisions, countering the “minority move-in hypothesis”: the claim that people of colour voluntarily move into contaminated communities rather than being targeted in situ by dirty industries.” (122)


“Bullard (1990) has highlighted the problem of “Black Love Canals” throughout the United States, where issues of environmental injustice are deeply connected with environ- mental racism. For example, Bullard highlights the case of toxic DDT water contamination in the African American community of Triana, Alabama. In 1978, in the midst of the national media attention focused on Love Canal, residents in Triana raised complaints over ill-health effects and contaminated fish and waterfowl. Lawsuits in Triana against the Olin Corporation continued throughout the 1980s. Although the case is noted within environ- mental justice histories (see Taylor, 2014), it is not widely recognized or commemorated.” (126)


“Underpinning the slow, structural violence (see Galtung, 1969; Davies, 2019) of unequal and unjust toxic exposures is the problem of “expendability” … Pellow (2018) proposes that indispensability is a key pillar of critical environmental justice studies (alongside intersectionality, scale, and state power). This idea builds on the work of critical race and ethnic studies scholar John Marquez (2014) on “racial expendability” to argue that, within a white-dominated society, people of colour are typically viewed as expendable.” (127)

“National and international media headlines followed the Flint water crisis story as it unfolded, but, after the initial shock, Flint faded from media attention. It shifted from being a spectacular disaster to a case of slow violence. This paral- lels the dynamics of public memory surrounding many toxic disasters, struggles, and legacies.” (128)

What is the main argument, narrative and effect of this text? What evidence and examples support these?

annika
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The author’s main argument is two-fold. Acute environmental disasters (e.g., Chernobyl, BP Horizon Spill, Hurricane Katrina) that garnered public attention leave behind legacies of increased support for environmental action and legislation, although the public attention span is often too short for lasting change. At the same time, these disasters have received a disproportionate amount of public attention compared to the many more slow-moving toxicity disasters that affect people in more systematic but often less visible ways. Examples of this disparity include the contrast between the 1984 Bhopal disaster coverage, and the persistent toxicity in the area in the time since then in the form of industrial waste and infrastructure that is not maintained. It is additionally important to note that the cases that don’t receive much attention often affect marginalized groups (by race, socioeconomics) disproportionately.

pece_annotation_1472844513

tamar.rogoszinski
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This study is published in the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology. This journal is for clinical oncologists and publishes articles about medical oncology, clinical trials, radiology, surgery, basic research, epidemiology, and palliative care. It was established in 1971 as the first journal from Japan to publish clinical research on cancer in English. It is a sister-journal to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute. It is also linked through the Oxford Journals. 

pece_annotation_1472844704

tamar.rogoszinski
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The object of this study is to observe whether or not there was an overdiagnosis of thyroid cancer after the Fukushima nuclear disaster in 2011. They did this by comparing the observed prevalance of thyroid cancer in the Thyroid Screening Programme with the estimated historical controls on the assumption that there was neither nuclear accident nor screening intervention. 

pece_annotation_1472844848

tamar.rogoszinski
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In response to

The article is published in the Japanese Journal of Clinical Oncology. It is meant for clinical oncologists and publishes articles on medical oncology, clinical trials, radiology, surgery, basic research, epidemiology, and palliative care. It was established in 1971 and is the first journal from Japan to publish clinical research on cancer in English. Since 1977, JJCO is a sister-journal to the Journal of the National Cancer Institute and is linked through Oxford Journals. 

pece_annotation_1472845180

tamar.rogoszinski
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They calculated the observed/expected (O/E) ratio of thyroid cancer prevalence for residents in Fukushima Prefecture that were below the age of 20. Observed prevalence was calculated by the number of thyroid cancer cases detected by the end of April 2015. The number of detected cases was corrected for screening rate by multiplying the inverse of the age-specific screening rate. The expected prevalence was obtained from another report, which was calulated using a life-table method using national estimates from 2001-10. Age-specific prevalence of thyroid cancer was estimated using the cumulative risk from 2010. The annual percent change of increasing cases of thyroid cancer was taken into account as well.