Serving the Community
Georgia Tech offers its expertise topolluted neighborhoods.
By Jane M. Sanders
A black liquid occasionally bubbles out of the ground on a large Taylor Street plot of land in Augusta, Ga. Black gold? Texas tea?
No such luck for the residents of this inner city urban community. Instead, this black liquid is coal tar, the contaminated remnant of a former manufactured gas plant that closed more than four decades ago. Since then, coal tar has seeped into the soil and groundwater on this site and into the surrounding area, greatly concerning community residents.
photo by Stanley Leary
In southeast Atlanta, the neighborhood of Boulevard Heights has welcomed
Georgia Tech's involvement in solving its pollution problems. Raw sewage spills
from water treatment facilities have contaminated nearby Intrenchment Creek,
fouling the air and water.
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Meanwhile, residents of Boulevard Heights in southeast Atlanta are dealing with raw sewage spills into a creek, a host of old vacant buildings and abandoned lots that have become illegal dumping grounds.
And to the south, residents in the town of Tifton, Ga., are concerned about a former fertilizer plant that has been dubbed the state's largest, most contaminated Superfund site.
"The need is clearly there in Georgia, and throughout the country. Communities dealing with these complex environmental issues need independent, free or low- cost technical expertise to help them make informed decisions," says Eliesh O'Neil Lane, a research scientist at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI). "And research universities, such as Georgia Tech, are strategically positioned to offer that help. We are a civic institution established to develop substantive knowledge, practical skills and social attitudes responsive to society."
In short, it is part of the Georgia Institute of Technology's mission to serve the community by promoting the general welfare of Georgia through science, engineering, and industrial research. It is now stepping up that commitment with the Initiative for Community Outreach, Research and Education (ICORE), funded by GTRI and additional funds to address specific projects.
Service Mission
ICORE, formed in 1996, grew out of an earlier Tech initiative to
address public health issues and to redevelop brownfields, which are
abandoned properties with either a real or perceived environmental
and/or health threat to the surrounding community. Now, Lane and GTRI
senior scientist Bob Schmitter co-direct ICORE. It seeks to build a
community-integrated research and development program that addresses the
problems, including brownfields, of Georgia communities. Basically,
ICORE coordinates the transfer of Georgia Tech's technology and wide
variety of expertise to neighborhoods in need. It does this through
outreach, research and education activities that emphasize community
participation.
"We are developing a multidisciplinary program to come up with solutions to problems in communities today. We are working side by side with community residents to do this," Lane says.
Both Georgia Tech President Dr. Wayne Clough and GTRI director Dr. Edward Reedy endorse ICORE. "We support ICORE because it is a perfect example of how pairing Georgia Tech's expertise with a community project can solve infrastructure problems that can advance the capabilities of a community," says Andrea Ashmore, special assistant to the president.
Because of Georgia Tech's breadth of expertise on campus, it is a perfect place to encourage such programs as ICORE, Reedy says. ICORE draws upon the resources and expertise of numerous Georgia Tech units, including GTRI's Safety, Health and Environmental Technology Division, the School of Public Policy, the College of Architecture's City Planning Program, the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering, the Economic Development Institute and the Center for Sustainable Technology.
"Many issues that currently affect our communities cannot be solved by one perspective alone," Reedy says. "For example, issues such as brownfields are not merely environmental in nature. These potentially contaminated tracts of land are also plagued with issues such as crime, lack of economic development and opportunity, and environmental injustice. Through programs such as ICORE, researchers from all areas of campus can come together to identify holistic multidisciplinary solutions to such problems."
Outreach and Education
But the task is not easy. ICORE representatives sometimes face a
skeptical public when they get involved in community issues.
photo by Jane M. Sanders
In Augusta, a manufactured gas plant site that closed in 1955 is
contaminated with coal tar components, some of which have
spread into neighboring soil and groundwater.
Community activist Charles Smith is closely monitoring
cleanup activities with assistance from Georgia Tech experts.
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A good example of such a relationship is ICORE's work on the revitalization of the Reynoldstown, Peoplestown and Martin Luther King (MLK) Jr. Historic Districts in Atlanta. This two-year project, which began in January, is funded by a grant from the Environmental Protection Agency's Office of Environmental Justice. Through a memorandum of agreement with local community development organizations, Georgia Tech personnel are identifying brownfields in these areas, conducting site assessments, identifying contamination, training community residents in pollution prevention and suggesting potential future uses of revitalized brownfields.
"We are experiencing a wonderful partnership with the Georgia Tech Research Institute," says Ute Banse, an architect/planner for the Historic District Development Corporation (HDDC), a non-profit organization active in the MLK Jr. Historic District. "Georgia Tech's lead and asbestos program approached us about using some of our older homes, which still have lead paint, as class and testing sites. For HDDC it is a big help to get some lead testing and related professional assistance at no cost."
Meanwhile in southeast Atlanta, the neighborhood of Boulevard Heights has welcomed Georgia Tech's involvement in solving its pollution problems. Raw sewage spills from water treatment facilities have contaminated nearby Intrenchment Creek, fouling the air and water. The community, Georgia Tech and local businesses are establishing a partnership to evaluate pollution issues and develop a pollution prevention program with the underlying goal of revitalization.
Other projects under the umbrella of ICORE are two EPA-funded technical assistance projects in Augusta, Ga., and Tifton, Ga. Both cities have heavily contaminated former industrial sites that have caused considerable community concern, Lane says. Through the Technical Outreach Services for Communities, a program of the EPA's Hazardous Substance Research Centers, Georgia Tech personnel are providing independent technical information to guide residents through the environmental cleanup and site reuse processes. Specific assistance includes interpretation of technical documents, speaking at community workshops and training community leaders in conflict resolution.
In Augusta, a former manufactured gas plant site, which closed in 1955, is contaminated with benzene, xylene, naphthalene — all coal tar components. Some of these contaminants have also spread into the soil and groundwater of the neighboring community. Cleanup work began in early 1998, and soon thereafter Georgia Tech representatives met with community activist Charles Smith. Now they are providing technical assistance to the community.
In Tifton, a former fertilizer production site is contaminated with KO61, a steel manufacturing byproduct that contains heavy metals such as cadmium, chromium and lead. In 1991, state officials discovered the fertilizer plant was not in operation and that hazardous waste flue dust was dumped on the ground and abandoned at the plant site and a nearby farm. Cleanup began in 1993 and took two years. The plant site and surrounding areas, including a local cemetery, continue to be monitored, and residents remain concerned, says Shirley Jordan, executive director of the non-profit People Working for People. Lane and Schmitter have explained the cleanup and testing to residents and were recently available to answer their questions at a community meeting.
Research
The third component of ICORE is research, which is gradually
developing as Georgia Tech establishes partnerships with communities.
"This is socio-technical research, a constantly emerging field," Lane
says. "It is the human side of technology development and scientific
research."
One promising area of research is the redevelopment of former Department of Defense and Department of Energy sites that have been contaminated through many years of operation, Schmitter says. DOD and DOE are long-time clients of GTRI, and assisting them in this new arena will provide a new dimension to the capabilities GTRI can offer to the federal departments, he adds.
Three faculty members serving as ICORE steering committee members are also interested in ICORE-related research, as well as service possibilities.
"I firmly believe that for us in an academic institution like Georgia Tech, so close to an urban environment full of challenges and opportunities, this type of initiative is a gold mine with tremendous intellectual, scholarly and, more importantly, social value," says Dr. Jorge Vanegas, an associate professor in the School of Civil and Environmental Engineering.
Dr. Larry Keating, an associate professor in the College of Architecture, has long been involved in community-based policy research in Atlanta. Now, he is looking forward to having a broader spectrum of expertise available to areas where he has already established a presence. "There are so many issues to address — poverty, racism, environmental problems, brownfields, lead-based paint in housing, and toxic waste dumps," Keating says.
In the School of Public Policy, associate professor Dr. Richard Barke is bringing to ICORE his expertise on stakeholder participation in scientific and technological policy disputes. "ICORE offers an opportunity to put into practice some new ideas about closing the gap between the technology haves and have-nots," Barke says. ". . . . It also could uncover new research opportunities as we identify gaps in our understanding of technical and policy problems."
Making a Difference
Despite the considerable environmental, economic and social hurdles
to cross, ICORE representatives believe they can make a difference in
many communities, Lane says. Though she cautions that Georgia Tech's
efforts must stay focused on long-term solutions.
"True revitalization is an economic, environmental, physical and sustainable revitalization of these areas that not only changes the look of the community, but its perception of itself and its long-term viability," Lane says.
Vanegas echoes her emphasis on the long term. He adds, "From economic development to enhancement of the built environment, all is possible."
For more information, you may contact Eliesh O'Neil Lane, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0837. (Telephone: 404/894-8044) (E-mail: eliesh.lane@gtri.gatech.edu); or Bob Schmitter, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, 30332-0837. (Telephone: 404/894-8064) (E-mail: bob.schmitter@gtri.gatech.edu)
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