The Toxic Truth

The report documents the dangerous environmental conditions at the Homestead detention camp in Florida, which was used to detain thousands of migrant children between 2016 and 2019. It highlights the camp's location adjacent to a Superfund site contaminated with arsenic, lead, mercury, and other toxins, as well as its exposure to chronic noise from the Homestead Air Reserve Base. The authors argue that these conditions constitute environmental racism and demand the permanent closure of the facility and comprehensive environmental testing.

• The Homestead detention camp is located directly adjacent to the Homestead Air Force Base National Priority Superfund site, specifically within 2/3 of a mile of 16 Operable Units (OUs) containing hazardous materials.
• Contaminants identified in the OUs closest to the camp include arsenic, lead, mercury, trichloroethene, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), which are linked to cancer, developmental harm, and organ damage.
• Soil and groundwater data indicate that arsenic and PAHs are present in shallow soils surrounding the camp, and arsenic levels at OU 21—located 130 to 140 feet from the center—have increased over time.
• The facility's buildings, repurposed from a former Job Corps campus, were found in a 2018 assessment to contain asbestos, lead-based paint, and mold, with some buildings showing unmitigated radon levels since 1992.
• Detained children were exposed to chronic noise from F-16C fighter jets at levels estimated between 65 and 69 decibels, a range the World Health Organization links to cognitive impairment in approximately 30% of children.
• The EPA and other agencies have established use restrictions on surrounding land, prohibiting hospitals, schools, and daycare centers to avoid arsenic exposure, yet the detention camp continued to house children.
• The authors report a systemic lack of transparency from federal agencies, noting that FOIA requests to the U.S. Air Force regarding environmental records remained unanswered for two years as of October 2021.
• The report identifies a pattern of 'environmental racism' where the U.S. government frequently places migrant detention facilities on or near toxic military sites, citing examples at Fort Bliss, Lackland Air Force Base, and Goodfellow Air Force Base in Texas.

APA

Crane, E. S., de la Cruz, G., Alvarado, L.-M., Martinez, M., Burkhardt, D., Arroyo, L., & Correa, A. (2021). The Toxic Truth. Earthjustice. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/afsc-toxic_truth-2021.pdf

Chicago

Crane, Emma Shaw, Guadalupe de la Cruz, Lis-Marie Alvarado, Mariana Martinez, Dominique Burkhardt, Laura Arroyo, and Ana Correa. The Toxic Truth. Earthjustice, 2021. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/afsc-toxic_truth-2021.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Crane |first1=Emma Shaw |last2=de la Cruz |first2=Guadalupe |last3=Alvarado |first3=Lis-Marie |last4=Martinez |first4=Mariana |last5=Burkhardt |first5=Dominique |last6=Arroyo |first6=Laura |last7=Correa |first7=Ana |title=The Toxic Truth |publisher=Earthjustice |date=October 2021 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/afsc-toxic_truth-2021.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{crane2021toxic, author = {Crane, Emma Shaw and de la Cruz, Guadalupe and Alvarado, Lis-Marie and Martinez, Mariana and Burkhardt, Dominique and Arroyo, Laura and Correa, Ana}, title = {{The Toxic Truth}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2021}, month = oct, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/afsc-toxic_truth-2021.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }