William DeShazer

Stories and Essays: Toxic Neighbors

Toxic Neighbors was a three day investigative series looking at how Dallas County has 900 sites that store hazardous chemicals which includes 52 industrial factories located dangerously close to residential areas. These factories must fill out worst-case scenarios with the Environmental Protection Agency. These worst-case scenarios, in some cases, could affect over a million people causing respiratory, skin, and eye problems and in some cases even death.

A homeless man walks down the sidewalk just outside the fences of Schepps Dairy where 85,000 pounds of ammonia is kept.
   
Signs face the outside of Univar USA Inc. showing the dangers that sit within the barbed wire fence. Univar USA Inc. has ammonia, hydrofluoric acid, formaldehyde, cyclohexylamine, and ethylenediamine all within their building in Dallas.
   
Only yards divide a residential neighborhood from Kraft Foods near the corner of Shiloh Road and Forest Lane in Garland, Texas.
     
  
Cedars residents relax in front of friends town homes on McKee St. near downtown Dallas. "We've got bigger fish to fry with the break-ins, drugs, and prostitution," said town home resident Freeman when asked about the nearby factories.
   
Oak Farms Dairy sits just on the other side of the Trinity River and downtown Dallas where in a worse case scenario 25,030 people might be affected according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
   
American Beauty Mill Loft residents hang out in a meeting area of the lofts. Industial lofts are a growing trend in the Cedars, but most residents are unaware of the threat of amonia from near by Pilgrim's Pride.
     
  
Central Wastewater Treatment Plant near Cadilac Heights in Dallas carries 401,000 pounds of chlorine and 110,000 pounds of sulfer dioxide in a worse case scenario could affect 930,000 people.
   
People walk a long the edge of Bachman Lake unaware of the possible danger that lurks on the other side where the Bachman Water Treatment Plant is located. The Bachman Water Treatment Plant carries large quantities of chlorine and ammonia.
   
Water Plant Supervisor, Carl Rabe, of Mesquite, does a routine check at Bachman Water Treatment Plant every two hours to monitor how much chlorine is being distributed to treat the water on Tuesday May 20, 2008.
     
  
Bill Coker, of Dallas, has been coming to the Ghetto Club for 13 years and about three times a week to play pool and socialize with friends. The Ghetto Club sits near Milk Products which holds 32,500 pounds of Ammonia.
  
Petra Chemical Company near Love Field is almost completely surrounded by apartment complexes and neighborhoods where over 2 million people would be affected in a worse case scenario.