Merced County residents: Living in a land of risk

About 1.2 million of the nearly 4 million residents living in the San Joaquin Valley face extreme levels of environmental hazards and social vulnerability that can lead to poor health, according to a study released Monday.

An additional 1.9 million people face elevated levels of the same risks, the study found.

In Merced County, the only community with a "very high health vulnerability" was El Nido, while Merced and Livingston have a "high health vulnerability."

The report, "Land of Risk, Land of Opportunity," was a result of a three-year in-depth study by the UC Davis Center for Regional Change. The key findings in the report were discussed Monday during a media briefing. One of the speakers was Merced City Councilwoman Mary-Michal Rawling who spoke about how the study will help local elected officials to better understand the communities they serve that are the most vulnerable.

"I think it's important to know that we do have vulnerable communities in the Valley," she said. The study "helps validate things that I already know from what I see on a daily basis from the constituents that I work with every day."

Sarah Sharpe, director of the Fresno Metro Ministry's Environmental Health Program, said the Valley has some of the best agricultural land in the world, but many people in the region live in poverty. The Cumulative Environmental Vulnerability Assessment was developed to measure the correlation of environmental risk and social vulnerability for people living in the Valley, according to the study.

It can be used to help improve the lives of people living in disadvantaged communities, said Sharpe.

Jonathan London, a researcher at UC Davis, said environmental hazards can include toxic air, hazardous waste facilities and water pollutants. The social vulnerabilities include poverty, low formal education levels and low English-language literacy.

Some areas face higher risk than others. "The action is critical here," he said, "because this is not just a report that is highlighting the results of the study -- it's a call to action to address these issues."

The action called for is cooperation between public and government agencies to identify the places of greatest risk and focus resources in those communities, London said.

John Capitman, executive director for the Central Valley Health Policy Institute at California State University, Fresno, said the institute's work addresses the causes of health inequality in the Valley. The study provides an important perspective and tool, he said.

"That nearly a third of the population lives in these high-risk areas is certainly an important finding," he said. "We need to work on infrastructure, on creating an infrastructure in communities and between communities to ensure a good quality of life. Agencies -- private and public -- need to commit to and engage in how do we improve the quality of life for those in our most underserved communities."

Overall, the Valley has mortality rates that are notably higher than the rest of the state, he said.

Unincorporated communities often suffer the most as they lack representation, they often have contaminated drinking water, little access to healthy food, and they often serve as agricultural and industrial sites, said Phoebe Seaton, program director for the nonprofit California Legal Rural Assistance, Inc. The emphasis should be on community health, rather than on economic gains, she said.

Richard Rios, public health manager with the Merced County Department of Public Health, said El Nido is among several areas where the level of access to care is not as great as in other areas in the Valley. Officials will use this study and others to develop assessments for working on steps to implement changes that can help reduce these vulnerabilities, Rios said. "Over time, more and more places can become healthier," he said.

Reporter Yesenia Amaro can be reached at (209) 385-2482 or yamaro@mercedsunstar.com.