July 7, 2000 UNT Inhouse publication: Photos document pollution effects

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Photos document pollution effects

A traveling photo exhibit that illustrates the possible effects of pollution on residents of an East Texas town is now on display at UNT. The exhibit by photographer Tammy Cromer-Campbell, "Fruit of the Orchard: Pollution, Environmental Justice and Social Responsibility," will run through July 28 at the Eagle Exhibit Hall in the Environmental Education, Science and Technology Building.

More than a decade after a toxic waste dump opened in 1982 upwind of the small East Texas town of Winona, an unusually high number of residents began developing cancer and giving birth to children with defects and rare skin conditions.

In 1994, Cromer-Campbell began photographing the town's residents, who allege that the toxic waste dump built near the town caused their health problems. The site closed in 1997.

Such environmental tragedies are more prevalent than most people realize, says Eugene Hargrove, UNT professor and editor of the journal Environmental Ethics. The philosophy and religion studies department chair is one of six environmental professionals and community activists who took part in a recent panel discussion aimed at raising awareness about such situations.

"Environmental problems of the kind encountered in Winona are widespread and difficult to deal with," Hargrove says. "Because government resources are limited and the burden of proof with regard to scientific evidence is often insurmountable, small communities usually discover that they have few alternatives."

Cromer-Campbell first had contact with members of this town of 457 in 1994, when a Winona-based environmental group asked her to take pictures of one of the town's youngest affected residents to help launch its campaign. Mothers Organized to Stop Environmental Sins (MOSES) significantly contributed to the closing of the toxic waste facility operated by American Ecology Corp., formerly known as Gibraltar.

"Fruit of the Orchard" is intended to heighten public understanding and awareness and prompt resource development and assistance to communities affected by pollution. For more information, visit www.cep.unt.edu/foto/panel.html or contact Hargrove at 565-2266.