Though the Environmental Protection Agency says air pollution in Massachusetts on average does not exceed the regulated amount, the statistics are misleading in several neighborhoods, particularly poorer ones with a higher minority presence like Roxbury and Dorchester, and areas of downtown Boston.
Corporations that build factories and pollute neighborhoods seem to think as long as property value remains low, they have a right to build them and infringe on the health of poorer citizens, who often cannot afford lawsuits against these corporations to prevent factories and toxic dump sites from receiving permits.
The long-term costs of treating people who suffer from asthma and other illnesses as a result of pollution outweigh the short-term price of preventing the permits in the first place. And even though corporations can only idealistically find a totally secluded place to build, they should also show concern for the health of residents, regardless of the demographic.
A collaborated study by Northeastern University and Vermont’s Johnson State College has conclusively shown that “ecologically hazardous sites and facilities are disproportionately located and concentrated in communities of color and working-class communities.” The study says black communities and areas where the median household income is below $30,000 are nine times more likely to suffer from exposure to environmentally hazardous facilities, and that the problem is only getting worse. It concluded that 14 of the 15 most intensively overburdened towns are of lower-income status.
A bill sponsored by State Sen. Jarrett Barrios and Rep. David Sullivan designed to cure Massachusetts of its “environmental ills” should address the issue by requiring a stricter permit process for a factory’s construction, taking into account all health and environmental costs.
Factories are only one part of the problem. Landfills, hazardous waste sites and power plants all contribute to health risks in these neighborhoods. Capping power plant emissions and encouraging recycling can reduce the problem in the short term, but the main problem lies in allowing factories that pose health risks to be constructed in the first place. A solution to this problem is a little murkier – and it’s one that may only be solved by a transition to cleaner energy alternatives.
But when any citizen – regardless of income level or race – is unknowingly harmed by exposure to industrial pollutants, an injustice is being committed, and is it the state’s responsibility to strive for equal protection from pollution and other environmental threats.
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