Life in the shadow of an oil refinery has become worse and worse for residents of Boynton, Detroit's southernmost neighborhood and Michigan's most polluted zip code (48217). The 2.8-square-mile community has long lived in the shadow of the Marathon Oil's Detroit refinery, which recently expanded to begin processing the tar sands, one of the dirtiest fuels available. According to Al Jazeera, the new equipment blasts the neighborhood with clouds of stinky, toxic exhaust.
Many residents are now asking Marathon Oil for a buyout similar to the one offered to homeowners in nearby Oakwood Heights, where homeowners sold Marathon their homes in order to create a "buffer zone" around the refinery. While many homeowners were paid above-average prices, the neighborhood is basically being erased. According to Al Jazeera, Marathon has no plans to offer Boynton a similar escape.
Boynton is not only affected by Marathon's gassy outbursts, but other big polluters in the area. There's the mysterious heavy industry of Zug Island, long blamed as a likely source for the Windsor Hum. The most cringe-worthy polluter might be the Detroit Wastewater Treatment Plant, which filters sewage for 3M people (burning a portion of it) and is the largest in the United States.
· All Oakwood Heights posts [Curbed Detroit]
· Life in Michigan's dirtiest ZIP code [Al Jazeera]
Loading comments...