former ukraine defense minister andriy zagorodnyuk, thank you so much. i m sorry for some of the connectivity issues but we appreciate your holding with us. coming up, everybody, accusations of environmental racism. why a problem with raw sewage in alabama sparked an investigation by the department of justice into racial inequality. departme into racial inequality you got waste running in people s yards, neighbors yards. it backs up in the majority of these neighbors homes. it backs up in a bathroom and on their floors. p in a bathroom ann their floors the ihop rewards program is here, and it s delicious.
Waste water crisis has triggered an investigation by the justice department, with many residents accusing local and state officials of environmental racism. nbc s yamiche alcindor reports. reporter: the dark green waters across from jerry dean smith s home hold a foul-smelling mix of human waste. it smells. it smells so bad. reporter: in hanesville, alabama, and many towns across the county, residents pay for sewage to flow into these lagoons. but here, many homes have failing sewage systems or none at all. you got waste running in people s yards, neighbors yards. it backs up in the majorities of these neighbors homes. it backs up in their bathroom and on their floors. reporter: smith and her neighbor say it s a health risk. in fact, one study found one out of every three adults here tested positive for hookworms, an intestinal parasite long thought to be eradicated. katherine coleman flowers, who grew up here, is an environmental activist.
Environmental racism. yamiche alr has been looking into this story. reporter: the dark green waters across from jerry dean s home holding a foul smell of human waste. it smells so bad. reporter: in alabama and many towns across loudoun county, residents pay for sewage to flow into these lagoons. here many homes have failing sewage systems or none at all. you got waste running in people yards and it backs up into these neighbor homes and in
Nbc s maura barrett, thank you for your reporting. absolutely not. and up next, a closer look at environmental injustice. in alabama s black belt. why people there say their kids and their grandkids cannot play in their own back yards. you ve got waste running in people s yards, neighbors yard. it backs up into these neighbors homes. it backs up in a bathroom, on the floors. what happens when performance. meets power? you try crazy things. .because you re crazy. .and you like it. you get bigger. .badder. .faster. you can never have too much of a good thing. and power is a very good thing.
Yamiche, what did you find? well, this story really is shocking. what we saw in lowndes county, alabama was really an entire neighborhood that was engulfed in waste because they have sewage systems that are failing or none at all. the dark green waters across from jerry dean smith s home hold a foul-smelling mix of human waste. it smells. it smells so bad. reporter: in hainesville, alabama and many towns across lowndes county residents pay for sewage to flow into these lagoons. but here many homes have failing sewage systems or none at all. you ve got waste running in people yards, neighbors yard. it backs up into the majority of these neighbors homes. it backs up in a bathroom, on their floors. reporter: smith and her neighbors say it s a health risk. in fact, one study found one out of every three adults here tested positive for hookworms, an intestinal parasite long