Toxic Sh!t

Taking on the powerful is difficult enough, but try taking on the government… it’s almost impossible. Documentaries are among the few “stones” we citizens have to take down “Goliath.” In her documentary, Toxic Sh!t, Stacey Stone takes on corporations and the government for the sake of her community’s health.

Toxic Sh!t tells the stories of three communities affected by nuclear and chemical waste which were covered up by their local governments. Most of the film takes place in Simi Valley, CA. In 1989, the nearby Rocketdyne admitted they experienced a minor meltdown in its nuclear reactor.

In Stratford, CT, an innovator in automotive brakes, Raybestos, was dumping asbestos waste in the nearby lagoons. Then the city would take the sludge from the lagoons as fill for the areas growing housing development.

“…tells the stories of three communities affected by nuclear and chemical waste and covered up by their local governments.”

Lastly, Hunters Point Naval Shipyard is located n San Francisco, CA, adjacent to the city’s minority population. During the 1940s and 50s, Hunters Point was the dumping point for the Military’s Nuclear Test waste. Nuclear waste was brought to the base and then quietly distributed throughout the community.

But this was done a long time ago…right? The effects of these toxins have certainly dissipated and are no longer dangerous…right? According to Stacey Stone, the answer is no. She believes the local governments are lying about the situation and are being funded politically by influential home developers to turn a blind eye.

Toxic Sh!t walks us through the history of what Rocketdyne, Raybestos (now Raymark), and the U.S. Navy had done to their communities, the increased numbers of cancer cases, and the rise in homes being built on top of a toxic waste pit.