Motivation is Essential Part of Solving Pacoima Pollution Problems
by: Jessica Perez (Spring, 2019)
Catalino Perez, 71, is an avid protestor and resident of Pacoima, Calif. since he migrated from Mexico to the United States over 47 years ago. In 1971, he relocated from Mexico to America on the search for a better life without family or funds to make a living.
When Perez arrived in America trying to make ends meet, he immediately went on the search for any job that would provide him with income. Instantly he became a grape and pear picker throughout the San Francisco ranches eventually being laid off; he became a nomad. Roaming across treacherous routes he ended up in the city of Pacoima where he now resides.
Unknowingly, the city became a significant part of Perez’s life the moment he met his wife, got married and had his three children. He acknowledges the substantial rise in traffic and resident congestion of the city since his arrival to Pacoima.
Pacoima, located in the northeast portion of California’s San Fernando Valley, is a Los Angeles community with an 83 percent Hispanic population, Pacoima residents are impacted by pollution from both mobile and stationary sources. The community is surrounded by three freeways, bisected by a railroad line and is home to a small airport and more than 300 industrial facilities. Many residents either live across the street from or adjacent to these potential sources of health risks.
Pacoima is home to several harmful factories, Diesel trucks and trash on the streets that impact the community. The Whiteman Airport is a controversial site because many residents admit that it has no use for the people of Pacoima since airplane owners are from wealthier cities. However, Pacoima residents are subjected to emissions from numerous toxic risks. The site is detrimental to residents’ health because loud noise can lead to short-term increases in blood pressure and sustained exposure could lead to long-term risk.
Price Pfister is another high-risk site surrounded by Diesel trucks that are emitting fumes into homes. Schools in Pacoima are located close to freeways, contributing to a high rate of youth asthma. Daytime heating patterns in Los Angeles also complicate the problem of groundwater contamination, causing it to vaporize in the day and re-condense at night. This leads to the potential for subsurface vapor intrusion into homes.
Perez believes that there are three major issues in Pacoima, one of them being traffic, creating a challenge for residents to find parking. Over the years, people from South and Central American countries have been migrating at a high rising number causing traffic congestion in the area. This correlates to the extremely high mortgage prices, where residents require to have approximately five to ten roommates in a single household.
Nearly 20% of the people in Pacoima live in rented rooms or converted garages. The suburban appearance shields a hidden density, where a single-family house may actually be home to several families, according to the KCET website.
The second major problem is the reality that many of the residents take out their trash, such as mattresses and furniture to the curb assuming that the city will eventually pick it up.
“This has to do a lot with the residents of Pacoima having a lack of motivation and not being educated in how city regulations work,” Perez said. They need to call waste removal services a day before they pass through their street, then they will know to pick up the trash.”
Homelessness is a third major issue in the San Fernando Valley, where the total number of homelessness went up to 7,627 and the county number increased to 57, 794.
Unfortunately, the homeless epidemic is a Los Angeles County issue in which the number of those living in the streets and shelters of the city of L.A. and most of the county surged 75% — to roughly 55,000 from about 32,000 — in the last six years. Three out of four homeless people — 41,000 — live in cars, campers, tents, and lean-tos, by far the biggest single group of unsheltered people in any U.S. city, according to the Los Angeles Times.
“We don’t notice the damage at the moment, but in the long run, it’s hurting our health. The Pacoima City Hall gives this community a voice, we just have to care, be alert and be motivated to make a change,” Perez said.
