Southern DeKalb County has developed a reputation for facing disproportionate environmental health threats from pollution, bad infrastructure, and more. A majority of these impacts are faced predominantly by Black communities. The process of righting these wrongs is known as environmental justice and, to this end, Science for Georgia has joined with a group of concerned organizations, community members, and policy- and lawmakers to help highlight known facts and inform the process.
Based on community input at two forums held in October 2023 and January 2024, it is has become clear that residents are aware that they face health and environmental burdens but lack resources to quantify and remediate these hazards. In Mar 2025 we presented the below reliable collection of information to better inform the community of the current situation and identify the gaps in knowledge that need to be filled in with further research.
Table of Contents
Overview
To get a sense of the many connected dimensions of burdens in this region, click through the maps below
Consent Decree
Underpinning many of the environmental health concerns in south DeKalb is wastewater infrastructure, which is now under a “consent decree”. In December 2010, the United States EPA and the State of Georgia EPD filed a joint civil complaint against DeKalb County for failing to maintain its sewer and wastewater systems, which was leading to numerous overflows and spills affecting over 500,000 residents. This resulted in a consent decree in 2011, with DeKalb County agreeing to pay a $453,000 civil penalty and to implement programs to address and prevent sewer issues. However, progress was slow, affected by suspected scandals, and DeKalb County fell behind schedule. This led to an additional $859,000 fine for continued overflows, with the highest number of spills occurring in 2019. Accusations of fund, misuse, and intimidation by the CEO, although denied, and the fact that most spills occurred outside the priority areas defined in the decree, further complicated the situation.
The county didn’t get a manager in place to oversee the large-scale projects until three years after the clock started ticking. It has been fined for underreporting spills. And the county’s original stance conceded that there were issues with fats, oils and grease clogging up the system while largely brushing aside the notion that weather was also fueling spills.” – Atlanta Journal Constitution, Feb 27, 2020
In 2020, DeKalb County, still far from meeting the consent decree’s requirements, requested an extension, which was granted, moving the deadline to 2027. The modification included identifying new priority areas and an additional $1,047,000 penalty, bringing total fines to over $2,000,000. Despite addressing 56 of the 103 initial priority areas and most new areas by 2023, there are still numerous problems.
The consent decree requires that the County must publish a yearly report on the number and volume of Sewer Overflows. The most recent of these reports, published in 2023, showed an increase in the total number of Sewer Overflows and spills between 2021 and 2023. The majority of locations with repeat spills in 2023 were located in the Cobb Fowler Creek Sewershed (33 spills), the Intrenchment Creek Sewershed (25 spills), and the Shoal Creek Sewershed (33 spills). All three of these locations are in the south of DeKalb County.
The volume from spills related specifically to maintenance increased by 29% between 2022 and 2023. This trend is troubling because, under the consent decree, maintenance should be improving and thus the volume of maintenance related spills should be decreasing, not holding constant or increasing.
Environmental Monitoring
Air quality and water quality monitoring is occurring in DeKalb. The below maps show the locations.
An important next step in this project is to provide information about what the monitors are seeing so that action can be taken on abnormal or unhealthy readings.
This map shows current and proposed air quality monitoring sites in DeKalb County.
Purple circles with wind icons represent existing Purple Air Monitors.
Pink circles show where current Ambient Air Monitors are located.
Orange circles with star icons represent proposed Purple Air Monitor locations.
The eastern half of DeKalb lacks sufficient air quality monitoring.
Use the survey below to suggest other monitoring locations.
The above map shows current and proposed water monitoring in DeKalb County.
Blue circles indicate current USGS Water Monitoring Locations.
Green circles indicate Adopt-a-Stream citizen science water monitoring locations.
Orange circles with stars indicate where water monitoring should occur for more complete coverage.
Use the survey below to suggest other monitoring locations.
Active Pollution Concerns
Reported Toxic Sources
To get a partial picture of the chemical threats from industry that South DeKalb faces, click on some of the points in the map below. EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) shows the required reports of handled and released chemicals between 2020 and 2022 (the most recent available years as of August 2024), and each includes an RSEI Hazard, which assesses risk based on how toxic the released substance is.
The Hazardous Site Index shows the abandoned toxic locations which have gotten enough attention to merit involvement of Georgia’s Environmental Protection Division in creating a cleanup plan for the health threat.
These are the EPA reported toxic substances released between 2020 and 2022, identified by the Toxic Release Index (TRI) and clustered into groups. Click on clusters for summaries of the releases and details of each individual toxic substance release.
Triangles in this map each indicate a hazardous waste site as identified by the Georgia Environmental Protection Division and colored by the categorization of the cleanup process. Read more about these categories here.
Reported Smells
Some communities of South DeKalb are exposed to such noxious smells that hundreds have turned to an app called “Smell My City” to report their recurring experiences. While many of these complaints sound like conventional trash smells, others report heavy “chemical” smells that arise intermittently to such severity as to generate headaches, respiratory issues, and even prevent residents from sleeping at night. Many residents suspect toxic fumes may be responsible for illnesses and lost lives. Further investigation of the chemical health threats that may be escaping via point sources is a challenging problem, but it is essential to address and better understand these claims.
The map below shows the number of “Smell My City” reports, larger dots indicate higher number of reports. Zoom in on the individual dots to read the reports.
Health Risks
Health outcomes are certainly influenced by known issues such as traffic and sewage overflow. There are additional threats from the point source polluters in the county.
Multiple analyses by the EPA of the greatest health threats from ongoing toxic substance use in DeKalb County point to Arch Wood Protection. This lumber processing yard, located in the southwest corner of the county, is responsible for the most concerning reported releases in the county by a wide margin, both in terms of raw hazard of the substance quantities themselves (RSEI Hazard in the map above), and in terms of likelihood of human interaction with these substances (RSEI Score viewable here).
The toxic substance of greatest concern at Arch Wood is Arsenic, which is a commonly occurring element which has been known since ancient times to be poisonous to humans, and more recently as a human carcinogen (a cancer-causing substance). Arsenic is used most commonly in pressure treating wood against rot and decay. According to the TRI data, the most concerning of these releases are “Off-Site”, which includes dumping into municipal sewage lines. DeKalb county has a notoriously faulty sewage system, as discussed in the “Consent Decree” section above, and is potential cause for community concern.
Knowing the amount of a toxic chemical release is not enough to get a sense of the health impact we can expect. This is because a small amount of a highly toxic chemical can be much more harmful than a large amount of a substance that is only slightly toxic. Incorporating the toxicity along with the amount of the chemical leads to a number which can be accessed by clicking on the points in the map below, called the “RSEI Hazard” by the EPA.
The toxicity and the chemical amount in the RSEI Hazard are not enough to truly explain the threat to human health, because even lower quantities of less toxic substances can be mis-managed and disposed more irresponsible ways. For instance, releasing consistent fumes in a residential neighborhood, or dumping into a stream that runs directly behind an elementary school should be more alarming than dumping carefully at a distance from the greater population. These population and exposure aspects are accounted for in the RSEI Score which can be viewed here.
Allied Wood also appears as a Class IV Hazardous Waste Site indicating past actions/events which warranted cleanup. The details in the link indicate hazardous levels of Chromium originating at that site getting into the local groundwater. Chromium IV is classified as a human carcinogen (a cancer-causing substance) by the EPA and IARC.
- Arsenic is used most commonly in pressure treating wood against rot and decay.
- Inorganic arsenic is considered a human carcinogen by the EPA and the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Long term exposure to arsenic leads to higher risk of cancer and other toxic effects on the body.
- Arsenic compounds like those used in pressure treatment typically have no smell, and cannot be easily detected by humans. However, long term exposure to arsenic is associated with darkened spots on skin and elevated “corns” or “warts”.
- Chromium is a hard steel-gray metal used in various different industries. It’s the 8th most common metal in the earth’s crust and is even a supplement in some forms. Other forms, particularly Chromium(Vi), depending on the level of oxidation are extremely toxic and carcinogenic.
- Short-term exposure: respiratory issues (nasal and lung irritation, altered pulmonary function), gastrointestinal (irritation, ulceration and nonneoplastic lesions of the stomach and small intestine), hematological (microcytic, hypochromic anemia).
- Long-term: Respiratory & Gastrointestinal system cancers. CDC – Chromium
- Reproductive effects: effects on male reproductive organs, including decreased sperm count and histopathological change to the epididymis.
E. coli are some of the most common types of bacteria found in our intestines. Within the human gut, naturally occurring E. coli is not only harmless, but also beneficial in facilitating digestion. Naturally occurring E. coli strains found in our bodies are good for human health.
The problem is that there are hundreds of E. coli strains. Harmful E. coli strains (those that do not occur naturally in our gut) cause a host of illnesses, ranging from diarrhea or nausea to kidney disease or septic shock.
Because E. coli is found in the intestines of most living things, scientists measure the presence of E. coli in water. High concentrations of E.coli point to contamination of a water system via wastewater system overflow, excessive animal waste runoff or other harmful bacteria, including viruses. People should avoid waterways with high E. coli concentrations, as there is a high likelihood of getting sick from harmful E. coli.
There are a few potential ways of developing a harmful E. coli infection. We come in contact with harmful E. coli via other people, food, or waste. This is why it is always good to cover your cough, clean and cook your food properly, and wash your hands!
Unknown and Untracked Health Risks
While the required reporting databases can give some important information, many toxic substances and dumping thereof may go unreported.
Newer substances often only need be reported once the EPA has classified them to be toxic, which is a slow-moving process. New forms of toxic chemicals may be dumped freely causing harm before regulation and accountability can occur. This is the case with PFAS. There is worthwhile concern over potential PFAS contamination in the South River Watershed (which covers the vast majority of South DeKalb county). PFAS are toxic “forever chemicals” which therefore tend to linger and accumulate in the human body. Aside from possible sources in industry, PFAS may be released into the environment in large quantity via firefighting activities.
There is some worthwhile concern over potential PFAS contamination in the South River Watershed (which covers the vast majority of South DeKalb county). PFAS are toxic “forever chemicals” which means that the human body cannot break them down and they tend to linger and accumulate inside of us. Public awareness of PFAS pollution, and efforts to prevent and protect against contamination are relatively new. Aside from possible sources in industry, PFAS may be released into the environment in large quantity via firefighting activities. Some of the highest PFAS level detections have been at military bases, where PFAS-containing firefighting foam have often been tested or used to extinguish liquid and chemical fires. Only recently has legislation arisen to limit the use PFAS firefighter foam, but with vague language leaving apparent opportunity for continued use.
While there has not been direct detection of significant/hazardous levels of PFAS in DeKalb county (that we have found thus far), the monitoring may be insufficient. There is absent PFAS monitoring in drinking water in South DeKalb from the EPA and the county itself does not appear to include measurements in required reporting. While an upcoming monitoring requirement that has come along with new EPA regulations should provide insight by 2027, independent monitoring and preventive actions like advocacy and personal filtration can be taken in the meantime. Most realistically, gathering independent testing data may help secure funding for advocacy and personal filtration efforts.
According to DeKalb county firefighting standard procedure, “All chemical or hazardous material incidents will have a unit capable of foam application dispatched to the scene.” Which incidents qualify as chemical or hazardous material, under what conditions the foam goes into use, and how much of this foam is still PFAS-containing, all remain open questions in our investigation. The public safety training facility under construction on Constitution Rd. SE is also a possible future source of PFAS contamination, as discussed below.
Currently under construction on Constitution Rd. SE is a Public Safety Training Facility which has attracted significant attention and backlash at both the local and national levels. It is located among the highly industrialized section of unincorporated DeKalb County along Intrenchment Creek (which feeds into the South River). It is applauded by advocates as necessary for police and fire training. It has been criticized for removing one of the few remaining natural buffers to mitigate industrial health threats and a lack of overall transparency.
Plans for this location are not only focused on police training but also include firefighting with a six story burn building at the site. While no specific plans regarding the use of firefighting foam have been expressed by the City of Atlanta, unclear legal restrictions and expectations of new and unconventional training methods appear to leave a wide opportunity for the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam. Legally binding agreements against the use of these chemicals will be more useful sooner than later to prevent damage to the local environment and residents.
A recent fire on the South River just upstream of DeKalb county in September caused the release of an unknown variety of chemicals. According to the South River Watershed Alliance and the data of Dr. Sarah Ledford at GSU, the runoff from extinguishing this fire caused miles of wildlife destruction and chemical imbalances. Extinguishing the unusual fire took three days and possibly required the use of methods beyond water to extinguish; it is unclear at this point whether this might have included the use of PFAS-including firefighter foam. This fire was caused by a giant mulch pile which was reportedly in violation of code, reinforcing concerns over code enforcement and hidden threats in this area.
The community smell concerns in the Smell My City complaint system have often pointed the nearby Seminole Landfill as a suspected source of the unusual chemical smells and alleged health impacts. One local group in Chapel Hill has worked to collaborate on testing for released chemicals in the air and water and claims the results of the test indicate the presence of a variety of hazardous and cancer-causing chemicals in their neighborhood. However, these test results have not yet been made public.
Thus far, there is not sufficient evidence to confirm whether the landfill may be releasing significant toxins to cause the severe illnesses observed. However, this does not mean the community concerns should be abandoned. Science for Georgia is in the process of requesting access to the materials inventory/manifest of the landfill to determine possible health threats and better establish the community claims. We also hope to repeat local testing of air and water based on suspected chemical sources.
In an area such as South DeKalb, some incidents have gone unexplained, such as an uncharacteristic series of deadly cancers at Narvie J. Harris elementary school. The combination of industrial and mixed-use zoning appears to allow for a variety of industrial activities, and where zoning enforcement has a troubled reputation, residents are right to suspect that more substances may be entering their neighborhoods than acknowledged in any of these formal reporting processes.