It is interesting that Mitch
Daniels has chosen his INShape campaign as well as the construction of new
terrain Interstate 69 as his legacy in these waning days of his time as our
governor of Indiana. I have been very pleased with
his “Eat Better, Move More, Avoid Tobacco” campaign[1], but
his push for this interstate seems very incongruous. This interstate will inevitably have negative
effects on the citizens of Indiana living near new terrain I-69. While supposedly reaping the benefits of the
new economic opportunities, they will be suffering from the health effects of
having an interstate running through their front yard.
Studies have shown that living near
an interstate substantially increase one’s exposure to ultrafine particulate
matter[2]. This means that although we may not be able
to see the pollution, we are breathing in tiny particles of molecules such as
iron or nitrates or aluminum. When we’re
near a road, this can increase our risk of pulmonary diseases like asthma (not
only for the adults, but especially for children). If you live further from the road and think
you’re safe, this particulate matter will follow you and increase your risk of
serious heart problems[3].
However, the highway won’t simply
affect our air. It will also affect our
soil. Many studies have shown the
negative effects of highway run-off.
With Indiana’s exciting weather patterns, we have snow, sleet, rain and
floods. Studies show that herbicides are
frequently washed into surface water and groundwater, which we use to irrigate
our crops and hydrate ourselves and our livestock[4]. Do we want to drink pesticides and herbicides? Do we want to drink the heavy metals (such as
copper or zinc) that are found on roadways?
Do we want our livestock and crops to grow up in the midst of this
pollution, not to mention our children?
Of course, I have to mention water
quality as well. Let’s forget for a
moment that heavy metals will be washing off the road. Let’s just talk about salt, which we use
frequently to prevent sliding off a slippery highway, a common occurrence in
southern Indiana. Cities take measures
to prevent complete runoff of salt into the soil, but in rural areas, those
measures are often neglected. In
addition, with the frequent snow and ice that we have, we use road salt quite
often. This leaches into our soil as the
metals do and increases the salt content in our drinking water[5]. Do you want to drink salt water? I, for one, do not.
Two-thirds of Indiana’s population
drinks groundwater. This means that we
drink water flowing down through the soil and the dirt that is often stored for
us in an aquifer[6]. It also means that we are drinking all of the
junk that comes from a road: the dirt, the grime, the sand, the salt, the oil
and all of the other invisible elements.
I know that these are problems that
exist around interstates nationwide and you might ask why we, along the route
of the intended I-69, should be excluded.
It’s because Indiana is unique.
The interstate would pass over the Mitchell Plateau, which is a system
of caves that (with the Muscatatuck Plateau) provide 25% of our drinking
water. According to the Natural Heritage
of Indiana, “The protection and management of these vital water resources
are critical to public health and to sustainable economic development.
Once a cave is damaged, its formations and the creatures that live within it
cannot be recovered.”[7] That is to say, once we have damaged this,
which an interstate will eventually do, it’s gone. 25% of our drinking water is gone.
So, Mitch Daniels, I
too want to eat better and move more.
But, how can I eat better when my food is grown in soil that has more
heavy metals and toxins leaching into the ground from your new interstate? How can I hydrate more when my drinking water
is polluted? How can I move more when I
have asthma from breathing in ultrafine particulate matter? As a resident of rural south-central
Indiana, this will be so much more difficult with new terrain Interstate 69 in
my front yard.
You have just negated
your best policy in Indiana. What a
legacy.
[1]
INShape Indiana, I. g. (2011). INShape Indiana. Retrieved August 7,
2012, from http://www.inshapeindiana.org/
[2]
Venkataraman, B. (2009, April 12). Road hazard?. The Boston Globe,
[3]
Seung-Hyun, C., Haiyan, T., McGee, J. K., Baldauf, R., Krantz, Q. T., &
Gilmour, M. I. (2009). Comparative toxicity of size-fractionated airborne
particulate matter collected at different distances from an urban highway.
Environmental Health Perspectives, 117(11), 1682-1689. doi:
10.1289/ehp.0900730
[4] Huang,
X., Pedersen, T., Fischer, M., White, R., & Young, T. (2004). Herbicide
runoff along highways. 1. field observations.. Environmental Science and
Technology, 38(12), 3263-3271. doi: 10.1021/es034847h
[5]
Transportation Research Board. (1991). Highway deicing: Comparing
salt and calcium magnesium acetate. (Sponsored by Federal Highway
Administration and Board Reviewed No. 235). United States of America:
Transportation Research Board, National Research Council.
[6]
Indiana Geological Survey. (2011). Groundwater of indiana. Retrieved
August 7, 2012, from http://igs.indiana.edu/Groundwater/
[7]
Natural Heritage of Indiana.Karst and caves in Indiana
wondrous but delicate underground ecosystems . Retrieved August 7, 2012, from http://www.naturalheritageofindiana.org/learn/karst_and_caves.html
wondrous but delicate underground ecosystems . Retrieved August 7, 2012, from http://www.naturalheritageofindiana.org/learn/karst_and_caves.html
Comments