An Analysis of Health Data Collection for a Health Impact Assessment of the Greenridge Landfill in Cumberland County, Virginia

The Cumberland County, Virginia area is populated by a strong and bonded community of people who have overcome years of segregation, racism, and injustices. One major, lasting landmark in the community is Pine Grove Elementary School, a school founded in collaboration between the Pine Grove community, the Rosenwald Foundation, and Booker T. Washington. Since its closing as a school, the building has remained an impactful community center, acting as a gathering place and venue for community events. The symbolism of the school also remains important for many Pine Grove community members, acting as a source of pride and a reminder of overcoming years of segregation and inequity.

The previous school and current community center has faced threats from various directions since its closing. The Agee-Miller-Mayo-Dungy (AMMD) Family Association was started to protect the Pine Grove School. The family organization has raised funds and increased publicity about the school’s importance and community health since then.

In June 2018, a major threat to the Pine Grove historic school arose as Green Ridge Recycling and Disposal proposed that a mega-landfill be built adjacent to the school. The proposed project in Cumberland is projected to process 3,500 - 5,000 tons each day. Mega-landfills have been built disproportionately in minority and low-income communities and are linked to negative environmental, economic, quality of life, and health impacts. The AMMD Pine Grove project is a local organization that aims to help save the school and achieve environmental justice for the community. A major endeavor has been to write a Health Impact Assessment (HIA) of the potential community health outcomes from the proposed landfill.

One obstacle in creating the Pine Grove Community HIA was a lack of community health data. Establishment of current health data of the community is important in many contexts, including the HIA. In comparison to other counties in Virginia, there is notably less (or no) data on air, water, noise, health conditions, and economic status through the local public health department and census data. To demonstrate how the proposed landfill will likely impact the health of the community, understanding the current state of health is integral.

One substantial effort made to increase data was a preliminary community health questionnaire created through collaboration of community members and environmental justice leaders like Lakshmi Fjord and Gustavo Angeles. The details of the creation and distribution of this preliminary survey are explored further throughout this project.

This project attempts to interpret the results of the data collected from the preliminary questionnaire to inform health research for the HIA. It will also aim to synthesize the preliminary questionnaire outcomes to improve the HIA’s data and hopefully inform policy to diminish detrimental health impacts from the Green Ridge Landfill. Throughout this project, main objectives will remain incorporating equity and ethical principles to evaluate the landfill’s potential impacts and to develop best practices for health data collection policies. The results will be used to formulate a new strategic data collection questionnaire for Pine Grove Community and the HIA report.