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“While such microaggressions have been examined in the context of implicit bias, Harrison is the first to look at them in terms of policymaking and program implementation. “We do ecology, not sociology,” a key stan- dard narrative cited by Harrison, is reminiscent of EPA’s response to my seminal Toxic Wastes and Race report.10 In 1987, J. Winston Porter, former assistant administrator for solid waste and emergency response, wrote that “EPA deals with issues of technology, not sociology.” (Lee, 2021, p 10209)

“Without such an analytical framework built on properly identifying, characterizing, and integrating disproportionate impacts, the default response for EJ issues devolves into a perfunctory “box to be checked” exercise. “ (Lee, 2021, 10233)

The author, Charles Lee, is credited as a well-respected leader within the field of environmental justice. His leadership roles in establishing the foundation for environmental justice policy in the U.S., particularly in linking environmental justice issues to systemic racism, gives credibility to his established position as an environmental policy analyst. Institutionally, he is affiliated with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, where he currently serves as the Senior Policy Advisor for Environmental Justice.

There are many vulnerabilities listed in this artifact that directly affect the community. To begin with, Bergen, Hudson, and Essex county are listed as the state's worse air quality. It also states that more than four in 10 people experience unhealthy air quality in the community within NJ.  

This artifact states the solutions that local lawmakers have come up with in order to effectively clean up the toxic waste in the Passaic River. There are many sources of resilience here as the E.P.A added to a superfund program worth $1.38 billion to clear the city of chemicals, pesticides, and all other contaminants that deterioate the Passaic River. This plan extends into the Belleville area as well. For three decades the E.P.A has used this Superfund program to clean up the countries' most hazardous waster sites. The efforts to clean up the Passaic are a result of the intesnse cleaning of the Husdon River and Gowanus Canal in Brooklyn. 

The main hazard of this artifact is the chemically polluted waters of the Passiac River and its effects on the marine life. Furthermore, it ish from the river are typically eaten by the locals. The main form of precaution exercised to avoid this health hazard would be the fish exchange tents which have been set up for locals to use exchange their catches from the Passaic with farm raised tilapia. 

Vulnerability and resilience in this artifact are defined by the high concentration of child poverty in Essex County. They are measured using the Census from 2000 and 2015 which show how there is a trend in the percentage of children who expereince poverty within the county. Majority of the children living in poverty are currently living in heavilyu concentrated poverty neighborhoods like Newark, Irvington, and the Oranges. Although the affluent town of Milburn is nearby, it is unclear how these children continue to live below the poverty line in Newark even though the towns are only 6 miles apart. 

The hazard in this artifact is in relation to the polluted water system throughout urban New Jersey areas. The Passaic Valley Sewerage Commission and the D.E.P are working together to create new infrastructure upgrades to the local sewer systems. This long term plan will help limit the amount of toxic waste that runs off into the drinking water for surrounding urban communities.