Health impacts of Salisbury’s 10-house poultry project

Tonight folks packed the First Baptist Church for a town hall meeting, eager to continue the ongoing conversation about the industrial chicken operation proposal.  Concerned community members joined the NAACP, members from Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future, and professors from around the world; to discuss the health impacts of this project.

The Wicomico County Health department recently conducted a health impact assessment to access the potential risks and impacts to the operations. The results more then concerned a number of Salisbury residents.

“I have an 8 year o;d that loves to play outside. Actually, all the kids in my neighborhood love to play outside and so I want them to have clean air,” explained Monique Brooks, a Salisbury resident. “I want to be able to drink my tap water. I want my kids to have a great neighborhood to grow up in and for our lifestyles to be able to sit out on our deck and have great times in the summer. And not to be overwhelmed by the smell of ammonia and particulates in the air and I don’t want my kid to get asthma.”

Brooks is a member of concerned citizens against CAFO’s, which are concentrated animal feeding operations. She tells us all the members are volunteers that are willing to fight for their right to clean water and clean air in their community.