Rural communities of color in the southeastern U.S. experience a high burden of environmental hazards from concentrated industry placement. Community-engaged research and qualitative methods can improve our understanding of meaning-making in a community impacted by polluting facilities. This study applies the photovoice method to assess how a predominantly African American community in rural North Carolina, impacted by a landfill and confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), perceives their health-related quality of life (HRQoL). Two research questions were developed with community-based partners: (a) How do environmental health concerns in this community influence residents’ perceptions of their HRQoL? and (b) How do community and county factors facilitate or inhibit community organizing around these concerns? Three photo assignment sessions were held to engage participants in discussions related to the research questions. Researchers analyzed discussion audio recordings and identified themes related to concerns about the following issues: health and quality of life, the landfill industry’s influence on community cohesion and self-determination, and actions to address environmental injustice in Sampson County. Photovoice benefits community-engaged researchers by providing a process for assessing the research interests of a community. Photovoice also serves community organizers by providing residents with a structured way to discuss their lived experiences and strategize ways to reduce hazard exposure.
The Environmental Protection Agency defines animal feeding operations as agricultural enterprises where animals (beef cattle, cows, poultry, and pigs/hogs) are kept and raised in confined spaces. These operations congregate animals, feed, manure and urine, dead animals, and production operations on a small land area. Larger feeding operations, more commonly referred to as Confined or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), have at least 1,000 pounds of animals in live weight (i.e., 1,000 head of beef cattle, 700 dairy cows, 2,500 swine weighing more than 55 pounds, 125,000 broiler chickens, or 82,000 laying hens or pullets). CAFOs produce more than 40 times the amount of waste product than biosolids generated from human sewage systems. CAFOs, unlike biosolid production, do not have regulatory guidelines related to pathogen level, emission, treatment, or waste disposal.These operations are largely located in communities of color and lowwealth populations and pose an urgent environmental justice issue for local residents. People exposed to releases from CAFOs can experience respiratory effects like asthma or allergies from inhalation of contaminants like ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) during operation, air emissions, and spraying of waste and unregulated waste disposal. In addition, CAFO emissions negatively impact the air, water and soil, property values, and the local economy of the surrounding areas.
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