Berkeley Undergraduate Journal

This paper will identify current health concerns inflicting Kettleman City and its corollary between race and hazardous waste, a comparison that has shown to disproportionately affect low-income communities of color. California reigns as the state with the nation’s highest concentration of minorities living near hazardous waste facilities, a correlation that generates concern in the public over racial targeting, particularly in Kettleman City, home of the largest hazardous waste plant west of the Mississippi. Kettleman City has been under scrutiny for hazardous waste violations, sparking conversations amidst the public regarding birth defects, infant mortality, increased cancer risk, and environmental racism, as the community comprises of primarily low-income farming families. Residents have actively mobilized since the 1990s, accompanying the establishment of the Kettleman Hill Hazardous Waste landfill within three miles of the City’s residential district, and have meaningfully publicized increased occurrence of cleft palate and infant mortality. Through implementation of quantitative analysis, this paper will provide an overview on the intersectionality between waste, race, and class, addressing alleged health effects, as well as identifying sociopolitical impacts affecting frontline communities of hazardous waste operations.