A new billboard campaign is warning South Los Angeles residents about the dangers of oil drilling in their neighborhoods.
Regina Martin with the group Black Women for Wellness grew up near the Inglewood Oil Field. She told KNX News’ Nataly Tavidian that the air pollution from the drilling site was “normalized.”
“There was a certain part when my mom would get to, would be on La Cienega maybe close to Fairfax, and the smell was horrible, and it was every day,” she said. “So sometimes when she would pick me up from the babysitter, it would just smell so bad. And sometimes the air quality was so bad that we couldn't even go out to recess at elementary school.”
Martin said none of her family knew about the health impacts of neighborhood oil drilling, which can include lung damage, asthma, premature births, cancer, and more.
The organization’s new “Bad Neighbor” campaign, in collaboration with STAND-L.A., is an effort to change that.
“We're putting stress on the severe health consequences of living near these oil sites – people having damaged lungs and the birth outcomes,” Martin said.
The awareness campaign comes about a month after the oil industry dropped its controversial effort to overturn a state law aimed at curbing the effects of neighborhood oil drilling.
Want to get caught up on what's happening in SoCal every weekday afternoon? Click to follow The L.A. Local wherever you get podcasts.
There are six billboards and ads across South L.A. highlighting the environmental justice group's victory. One reads, “We're winning. Big oil can't drill new oil wells near our homes, and now we fight on to end existing oil drilling.”
The campaign also includes digital ads and grassroots organizing efforts focused on the Inglewood Oil Field area.
Follow KNX News 97.1 FM
Twitter | Facebook | Instagram | TikTok