Abstract
Background:
This article amplifies the voices of African Nova Scotians in the south end of Shelburne in Nova Scotia, Canada, who have long been concerned about the social and health effects of the Shelburne Town Dump near their community.
Methods:
The study used an interpretive narrative methodology to collect and analyze the data. A total of 39 African Nova Scotian residents in the south end of Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada, participated in interviews and focus groups. Sixteen people participated in interviews, and 23 people participated in focus groups.
Results:
Although the dump was initially perceived as a childhood playground when they were children, as well as a site where their parents would retrieve items to address economic shortfalls, today residents view the dump as the main source of high rates of cancer in the community and as a case study of environmental racism in Canada.
Discussion:
The experiences shared by participants about the health effects of the dump align with existing literature on hazardous chemicals emitted by dumps. Participants discussed their normalization of the dump, intersectional discrimination, the lack of response by their Town Council and their recommendations for addressing these issues.
Conclusion:
A new environmental justice law in Canada offers an opportunity for the first time for government to assess, address, and prevent environmental racism and provide compensation for communities that have been harmed. It will involve the engagement of impacted communities in the development of an environmental policy.
INTRODUCTION
There has long been evidence in the existing literature of a racial dimension to environmental health inequities in Canada, showing that Indigenous and other nonwhite communities in Canada are exposed to greater health risks compared to white communities because they are more likely to be spatially clustered around dumps and other waste disposal sites and environmental hazards.1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10 Dumps and other waste disposal sites emit harmful substances, such as heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, fine particulates, and dangerous gases.11,12,13,14,15
The Shelburne Town Dump has been located near the African Nova Scotian community in the south end of Shelburne, Nova Scotia, Canada, since the early 1940s.16,17 In early 2016, members of the community banded together to form the South End Environmental Injustice Society (SEED), which was initially called the South End Environmental Dump. SEED is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to address the social and health effects of the dump.4,18,19 The dump accepted municipal and medical waste from the adjacent hospital, the community college, the former naval base, and the Municipality’s industrial park, with little record keeping or documentation.17 Residents have long been concerned about smoke inhalation due to the burning of garbage that occurred during the peak of the dump’s operation. 20
Black communities in Nova Scotia (and Canada more broadly) are considerably vulnerable to illness and disease associated with their greater exposure than white communities to environmental risks and other structural determinants of health, such as unemployment and underemployment, income insecurity and poverty, food insecurity, poor public infrastructure, and criminalization, among other determinants. Environmental health inequities describe health disparities between communities that have access to clean air and water and those that do not due to the presence of polluting industries nearby.4,17,19,20,21,22,23,24
There is strong evidence of higher rates of air pollution in Indigenous and other nonwhite communities in Canada.8,25,26,27,28,29,30 Cancer, an illness that is linked to air pollution and is widespread in the African Nova Scotian community in the south end of Shelburne, is now the first leading cause of death in Canada.6, 31 Little is known about Canadian cancer disparities despite numerous international studies reporting disparities in cancer incidence and outcomes for people of African ancestry.31
As North American people of African ancestry often reside in low-income neighborhoods near polluting industries, cancer disparities may be due to the interplay of high environmental contaminants exposure, other structural determinants of health, and/or an ancestral genetic susceptibility. In this qualitative study, we explored the lived experiences of African Nova Scotians living in the south end of Shelburne, who have an inordinately high incidence and family history of various cancers. Shelburne is a town located in southwestern Nova Scotia, settled by Black Loyalists in the late 1700s. This town became one of the largest Black settlements in North America at the time and remains a prominent African Nova Scotian community today.32,33
For the past several decades, the dump has been located within the boundaries of the Town of Shelburne on Morvan Road on the southeastern outskirts of the town, where the largest concentration of African Nova Scotian residents has lived for decades.6 Shelburne is often discussed as one of many examples of environmental racism in Canada. Environmental racism can be defined as racial discrimination in (1) the disproportionate location and greater exposure of Indigenous and racialized communities to contamination and pollution from polluting industries; (2) the lack of political power these communities have for resisting the placement of industrial polluters in their communities; (3) the implementation of policies that sanction the harmful presence of poisons in these communities; (4) the disproportionate negative impacts of environmental policies that result in differential rates of cleanup of environmental contaminants in these communities; and (5) the history of excluding Indigenous and racialized communities from mainstream environmental groups, decision-making boards, commissions, and regulatory bodies. 34
Cancer and health disparities
Cancer is a heterogeneous family of diseases characterized by abnormal cell proliferation in any part of the body. Uncontrolled cell proliferation is typically due to genetic alterations that can be inherited or caused by chemical (e.g., asbestos, formaldehyde, tobacco smoke, pollution), physical (UV radiation), or biological (bacterial or viral infectious agents) carcinogens.35,36,37,38 Cancer is now the leading cause of death in Canada and the second leading cause of death globally. 39 The Canadian Cancer Society estimated that 675 people will be diagnosed with cancer each day, with 241 lives lost daily to the disease. 40 Despite advancements in research and treatment, increasing evidence from studies has reported significant disparities in cancer incidence and outcomes, particularly for people of African ancestry. 41 In the 2016 Canadian Census, Black individuals of African ancestry comprised 3.5% of the population (1.2 million), yet exhibited disproportionately high cancer prevalence. 42 Systemic inequities in income, housing, education, and healthcare, compounded by racial discrimination and stigma, hinder access to medical care. Although originally attributed to low socioeconomic status (SES), these disparities are now understood to arise from a complex interplay of race, SES, lifestyle, neighborhood/housing quality, environmental and genetic/epigenetic factors.21–23,41,43,44,45,46,47 Racial minorities in Canada experience many of these structural determinants of health and thus they exhibit higher rates of prolonged stress, poor mental health, substance abuse, and chronic diseases such as cancer.21–23,47
Nova Scotian cancer disparities
Residents of African descent/ancestry represent the largest minority group in Nova Scotia, with the African Nova Scotian (Black) community in the south end of Shelburne facing significant health inequities. Shelburne, home to approximately 1800 residents, was one of the largest Black Loyalist settlements in North America in the 1700s and remains a historical hub for African Nova Scotians, many of whom currently work as domestics or manual laborers in hospitals, shipyards, or fishing plants. This community experiences unusually high cancer incidence and mortality, often linked to decades of living downhill from a dump that accepted industrial, medical, and residential waste for over 75 years.6
These enduring impacts of environmental injustices, colonialism, and systemic/structural racism have further exacerbated these health disparities in the south end of Shelburne and other African Nova Scotian communities.4,6 These structural determinants of health have culminated in disproportionately high rates of chronic diseases, such as cancer and diabetes, and increased mortality compared to white Nova Scotians and the general population.47,48,49 The findings from this study will serve as a foundation for developing innovative therapies for high-fatality cancers affecting people of African ancestry in Canada and globally, while informing health policy reforms to address and reduce cancer-related health inequities.
METHODS
Although the larger study upon which this article is based used a mixed-methods approach that consisted of qualitative (focus groups, one-on-one interviews) and quantitative (surveys, biospecimen sampling, and genomic sequencing) approaches, this article is based on the qualitative aspects of the study only, which was conducted between 2023 and 2024. The Hamilton Integrated Research Ethics Board at McMaster University approved the study on October 3, 2022.
This study used an interpretive narrative methodology to collect and analyze the data.50,51 This methodology enables participants to articulate and give meaning to their experiences and worldviews. It recognizes humans as self-interpreting beings whose interpretation of phenomena is embodied in social, cultural, and linguistic practices.50
Sample and recruitment
We recruited a total of 39 African Nova Scotian residents in the south end of Shelburne to participate in interviews and focus groups. Our recruitment methods included phone calls, email, and social media posters. We also held a town hall in the south end of Shelburne in the summer of 2023 to introduce residents to the study and encourage participation in both the qualitative and quantitative aspects of the study. African Nova Scotians in Shelburne are descendants of Jamaican Maroons, people from Sierra Leone and Black Loyalists from the United States who migrated to Nova Scotia after the War of 1812. Shelburne’s south end is a primarily elderly, low-income, rural, and remote community, and, therefore, our pool of participants represented these characteristics. Our selection criteria for participant recruitment included African Nova Scotian men and women who were 18 years of age or older and currently reside in the south end of Shelburne or were former residents of the south end. Most participants were over 40 years old, ranging from 55 to 70 years of age. We also wanted to select people who could discuss their interactions or experiences with the dump and its perceived health effects.
Data collection
Sixteen people participated in interviews, and 23 people participated in focus groups. Two focus groups were conducted in total. Twelve individual one-on-one interviews were conducted; one interview was conducted with two people at the same time, and another interview was conducted with two people at the same time. Semi-structured focus group and interview guides were used to facilitate focus groups and interview discussions.
The focus groups obtained information from participants about the community’s experiences living near the dump, community perceptions about the link between the dump and cancer, addressing cancer in the south end of Shelburne, and addressing the dump. The interviews asked questions about personal and family experiences living near the dump and personal and family experiences with cancer and other illnesses.
Data analysis
The stories shared by participants about the dump over the years required that we use a narrative approach to analyze the data. Using NVivo software, we were able to identify themes and patterns in the narratives provided by participants during the focus groups and interviews. Codes were generated inductively from the interview and focus group data, after which themes were generated inductively. Narrative analysis allows researchers to delve into the content, structure, and significance of narratives or stories shared by individuals. Storytelling emphasizes understanding lived experiences as a valuable source of knowledge.
RESULTS
The following themes and subthemes emerged from the interviews and focus groups: (1) past experiences with the dump, including the normalization of the dump, perceiving the dump as a playground, and perceiving the dump as a resource; (2) negative social impacts of the dump, including stigma, intersectional discrimination, and environmental racism; (3) environmental impacts of the dump, including unwanted animals, environmental hazards, air pollution and poor quality water; (4) self-perceived health impacts of the dump, including more risks for pulmonary diseases and cancer; (5) unsatisfactory response from the Shelburne Town Council, including nonexistent help and racist treatment; (6) desired response from the Council, including economic compensation and acknowledgment; and (7) recommendations.
These themes and subthemes are explained in depth in the next section. Please note that “FP” refers to female participants and “MP” for male participants in the interviews and focus groups. FG refers exclusively to focus group participants.
Past experiences with the dump
Participants shared that during their childhood, they perceived the dump as a normal part of their lives and that their proximity to the dump and its potential impacts had been normalized.
FP5: “The dump was just part of life.”
FP9: “Back then, the dump was a normal everyday thing.”
The dump was a familiar setting perceived as nonthreatening because of a lack of awareness about its potential negative impacts. Residents would visit the dump for recreational activities, seeing it as a playground where they would use disposed items as toys.
FP10: “We just went to play, because it was a playground. It became a playground. More specifically, if I can remember, we were there a lot. Yeah. We were there with mom a lot. We never went alone. We were always with mom. Yeah.”
Their parents would retrieve disposed items from the dump to compensate for economic shortfalls and the precarious economic situation in the south end of Shelburne.
FG7: “So I had the nickname ‘Dumpy,’ because I spent so much time there with mom, with my sisters and grabbing toys, pants, pots, everything. So, I go back to that now and just think about the amount of time that I spent there and how I looked forward to going there. It was like a trip. It was like a family trip to go. I was going to find something.”
In conclusion, the dump played a crucial role in participants’ lives, as it would compensate for their lack of resources and serve recreational purposes. At that time residents were unaware of its negative social and health impacts.
Negative social impacts of the dump
Living close to the dump impacted the social lives of participants and their families. In this sense, it led to isolation.
FP3: “(…) when I was a kid I would make friends, but some of their parents didn’t want me to come visit. (…) Because I’m from this side of the tracks. Because I stink like the dump (laughs).”
Such segregation was a direct consequence of stigma experienced by those who lived close to the dump.
FP3: “So, I would say when you’re from this area, you don’t really see how you’re being treated differently, but when you leave the area, you realize that there’s things about being on this side of the tracks. And I left, and I came back, and people didn’t know me anymore. They didn’t know that I was from this side of the tracks. So, when I came back, I realized that… There is a stigma. Growing up we were treated differently, and a lot of that can probably be because maybe we smelled like the dump.”
Participants also discussed the intersectional discrimination they experienced related to their race, economic status, and residential location.
FP1: “Yeah, we hung out together, yeah. No, I don’t remember those guys ever treated you any good, so…”
Interviewer: “So you think… Do you think it was because of where you lived?”
FP1: “I think… A part of that and I think part of it, too, was because we were Black too, right?”
Participants also shared that discrimination played a crucial role in deciding where to place the dump site.
FP7: “I mean, it’s fact that all dumps were put in near Black communities and that’s fact … that’s going on for years and they stand.”
The environmental impacts of the dump were numerous, including the increased presence of animals and environmental pollution.
Environmental impacts of the dump
The dump has also attracted unwanted animals to Shelburne, such as seagulls and rats.
FP6: “All the seagulls and all the crows and the rats. They basically probably came all the way down from this dump all the way down to the end of the street. And, probably further into the community, you would see rats all the time going up down the street and walking back.”
In addition to the presence of ash, smoke, and fires, participants witnessed liquid runoffs that the dump would generate.
FP3: “I remember when you would drive up to the dump. There’s like an edge, like a hillside. And you would see stuff oozing out of the hill, and it would be like, like oily, brown, yucky, sludgy. And it would fill up the ditch along the side and this smell was bad, but at the time everything smelled bad.”
These pollutants impacted the quality of the air, water, and food.
FP10: “I remember that smell very vividly in my mind, that smoky smell, that ashy smell, that… A stench. The burning, like the lingering, I remember the smoldering. Whatever remained… whatever remains were left, didn’t all go out.”
The consumption of contaminated water was sometimes linked to health issues, such as migraines and high blood pressure.
“I don’t trust it (the water) and… I mean, when they come over and tested it, said it had salmonella, Group B, or something ‘-ella’ something (…) And like I said, W2 died and he drank the water and H2 died, and he drank the water, so…”
The discussion on contaminated water led to participants sharing their concerns about the link between water contamination and health.
Self-perceived health impacts of the dump
The residents associated the dump’s proximity to their community with high rates of different illnesses in the community, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and cancer. When asked if they believe the dump contributed to lung disease, a participant stated the following:
FP2: “Yes, probably, and COPD and all that, because I don’t smoke and I am not good.”
Participants discussed that at least one of their relatives had been diagnosed with cancer.
MP8: “I don’t have a family member alive that didn’t pass away from cancer. In… in my life. Mother, father, you know, grandparents.”
FP10: “Well, regarding cancer, yes, my mother. (…) she passed away from, yeah, cancer from a cancer called multiple myeloma… Myeloma, and it was a form of leukemia or blood cancer.”
FG10: “The family that I live with had cancer and death.”
There was a general sentiment in the community that the Shelburne Town Council had failed to acknowledge the harms the dump had caused to African Nova Scotian residents in the south end of Shelburne or to address it.
Unsatisfactory response from the Shelburne Town Council
Participants shared that the Shelburne Town Council has failed to acknowledge the impact of the dump on the community or to mitigate its negative effects, despite ongoing requests from the community.
FP1: “They do nothing about it. And they say, ‘let’s sweep it under the rug so we don’t have to deal with it’. Isn’t it true? So, they don’t have to pay, they don’t have to deal with it. ‘Let’s sweep it under the rug.’”
This type of neglect, as well as differences in how the Town Council treats white residents compared to African Nova Scotian residents have contributed to perceptions by African Nova Scotians that the Town Council has demonstrated racism toward their community.
FP1: “They are going to go with the whites more than they are going to go with the Blacks. And, I mean, they are going to do whatever they can for them and then just going to shut us off to the side.”
Participants emphasized their desire to be economically compensated by the Town Council and government agencies for the harm the dump has caused.
MP8: “But I do know that there’s many subdivisions that were built next to graveyards on graveyards, a little less like in this, and they all got settlements and got moved out and replaced. So, yes, if that’s the least they could do, they could walk around here and write a check for some families, X amount for X amount of personal harm.”
Although the Town Council has recently taken steps to decommission the dump, they have failed to reach out to the African Nova Scotian community for their input. The ongoing disregard for the community by excluding them from being involved in decisions on an issue that has directly impacted them continues to fuel sentiments about discriminatory actions meted out to the community by the Town Council. The next section shares participants’ recommendations for how these issues can be addressed.
Recommendations
Participants shared many recommendations for addressing the impact the dump has had on their community. First, they discussed the need for economic compensation by the Town Council for their experience of environmental racism over the last several decades. Second, they recommended that area cleanup take place to prevent further contamination and pollution in the community. They also suggested that there be acknowledgment by the Town Council of the negative health impacts of the dump in their community. Finally, participants expressed the need for more research to be conducted on the dump to fully understand its long-term effects and repercussions.
DISCUSSION
There has long been strong evidence that nonwhite communities in Canada are disproportionately located near hazardous sites1–10 that expose residents to toxic substances that pose a risk to their health11–15 The variety of contaminants present in dumps and other waste disposal sites is a result of the diversity of materials that are disposed of in the site. Industrial, residential, and commercial locations all produce differing waste materials that will eventually end up in a disposal site. In the case of the south end of Shelburne, the dump accepted municipal and medical waste from the adjacent hospital, the community college, the former naval base, and the Municipality’s industrial park since it was placed in the community in the early 1940s. Participants shared their belief that high rates of cancer and COPD in their community are linked to their exposure to hazardous substances that have been emitted by the dump. Several studies confirm that dumps and other waste disposal sites house and release harmful chemicals, heavy metals, volatile organic compounds, fine particulates, and a variety of dangerous gases, all of which directly and indirectly harm the environment and human health.11–15 Participants’ experiences aligned with findings from these studies, sharing that air pollution from ash, smoke, and fires from the burning of dump materials, liquid runoffs, groundwater contamination, and their interactions with the dump (retrieving disposed and contaminated items from the dump) have exposed them to environmental hazards and illness.
They also discussed the normalization of the dump in the community, perceiving it as a normal part of life to be used as a playground and site where they could retrieve needed resources. They were unaware at the time that these interactions could pose a risk to their health. Participants also discussed how the intersection of race and their proximity to the dump was a form of intersectional discrimination, leading to the stigmatization of the African Nova Scotian community in the south end. Although the community has called on the Town Council to take their concerns seriously for years, they remain dissatisfied with the Town Council’s failure to respond, lack of action, and what they perceive as racist treatment. The participants offered several recommendations to address their concerns about environmental racism, including an acknowledgment by the Town Council of the harm done to the community resulting from environmental racism, providing economic compensation for the harm done to the community, and beginning area cleanup to prevent further contamination and pollution. They would also like to see more research conducted on environmental hazards in their community. This type of involvement is key for racialized communities impacted by environmental racism that have long felt dismissed and ignored.
Limitations of the study
A limitation of this study is that it did not explore whether participants had left Shelburne and returned, or whether they were born before or after the dump’s closure. This could be an important area for future research. In addition, we did not collect detailed demographic data, which would have provided more insight into the social factors and social identities that shape the experiences of residents.
CONCLUSION
A promising sign that environmental racism is gaining more attention in Canada is the approval of Canada’s first environmental justice law in 2024. In 2022, Green Party leader and member of parliament Elizabeth May introduced the private members’ bill An Act Respecting the Development of a National Strategy to Assess, Prevent and Address Environmental Racism and to Advance Environmental Justice (Bill C-226) in the House of Commons, which became Canada’s first environmental justice law on June 20, 2024. 52 As part of this law, Environment and Climate Change Canada is currently leading the development of the National Environmental Justice Strategy, which will promote efforts across Canada to address the harm caused by environmental racism. The implications of this strategy are far-reaching. It will involve the meaningful engagement of impacted communities in the development of an environmental policy for the first time. It offers an opportunity for the government to assess, address, and prevent environmental racism and provide compensation for communities that have been harmed—all actions that impacted communities have been seeking. This law has the potential to offer south end residents opportunities to influence decisions made by the Town Council and collaborate with them in advancing environmental justice initiatives that promote a healthy environment in their community. I close this article on a hopeful note: A leader in the community launched a complaint with the Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission a few years ago to address the community’s concerns about environmental racism. The case is pending.
AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS
I.R.G.W.: Conceptualization, data curation, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, resources software, supervision, validation, visualization writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. J.M.D.: Conceptualization, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, supervision, validation, visualization writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. P.A.M.: Conceptualization, formal analysis, funding acquisition, investigation, methodology, project administration, supervision, validation, visualization writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. S.B.: Conceptualization, formal analysis, funding acquisition, methodology, validation, visualization, writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. L.M.: Conceptualization, formal analysis, funding acquisition, methodology, validation, visualization writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. M.B.M.: Data curation, formal analysis, visualization writing—original draft, and writing—review and editing. L.D.: Conceptualization, data curation, investigation, and writing—review and editing. V.H.: Conceptualization, data curation, investigation, and writing—review and editing. R.W.C.: Writing—review and editing.
Footnotes
AUTHOR DISCLOSURE STATEMENT
No competing financial interests exist.
FUNDING INFORMATION
No funding was received for this article.