Brawley Health ACTION Environmental Study
Community members in Brawley, CA, have long expressed concerns about suspected exposures and health outcomes related to pollution from nearby sources, including a former agrochemical plant, an animal rendering and slaughterhouse, pesticide applications on nearby farms, a cooling facility, and mobile source emissions from roadways.
The PureGro toxic site located on the east side of the city of Brawley, CA has been suspected by the community to have afflicted their health for decades. Homes are as close as 50 ft from the site and schools are located less than half a mile away.
The Brawley Health ACTION Environmental Study, which begins in the spring of 2021 and sunsets in the fall of 2023, will engage residents to better understand their concerns and explore whether these sources may be resulting in community exposure. The Study aims to engage residents living near these sources to document community concerns and oral histories, design and conduct a health assessment and environmental monitoring, report results back to the broader community, share concerning findings with the proper agencies, and conduct activities that empower the community to protect their own health.
Specific plan activities and strategies will be decided based on the recommendations made by a community advisory group, a larger resident group, and Comite Civico del Valle as a longtime Brawley-based community organization. After the planning is completed then the study will conduct a health assessment to better understand the community’s health status and their concerns. Additionally, there will be an environmental sampling of the surrounding communities to better understand any potential community exposure. This may include testing the soil, the water, or air. As planned, the found results will be shared with the community and engage them to develop and implement an action plan.
For questions and more information, please contact the study's Principal Investigator, Paul English Paul.English@trackingcalifornia.org or Comite Civico del Valle, as the community partner, Luis Olmedo Luis@ccvhealth.org
