Hispanics disproportionately affected by pollution
(Getty Images)
By: FERNANDO PIZARRO
Channel: Politics
One out of two Hispanics in the U.S. is exposed to high air pollution levels, according to a report released Tuesday in Washington. At least fifty percent of Latinos now live in counties that frequently violate air pollution standards, claimed the study by a national coalition of environmental, health, labor and progressive organizations.
Andrea Delgado, one of the report’s co-authors, said Hispanics are disproportionately suffering the negative effects of air pollution. “This was a national investigation and we found that cities and counties with a high concentration of Hispanic population are the areas that violate those standards,” said Delgado, who is part of the National Latino Coalition on Climate Change.
Latinos now represent the largest minority group in 191 metropolitan areas in the nation, which also have the highest growth in vehicle traffic and largest presence of industrial and power plants.
Environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club, which did not participate in the study, have long asserted that air pollution is a serious concern for Latino communities across the country. Three years ago 4.7 million Hispanics were diagnosed with asthma, according to the report.
“Hispanic children have sixty percent more chance of developing asthma than the rest of the U.S. population,” said Javier Sierra, a spokesman for the Sierra Club. “This is a really cruel statistic. That explains why any Latino, child or adult, has three times the probability of dying due to asthma-related conditions.”
Nationwide, Latinos have limited access to health care coverage and that complicates the situation for many families, says Delgado.
According to the study, ozone and mercury are the most dangerous contaminants in areas with high Hispanic populations. California, Florida, Illinois, New Mexico, New Jersey, New York, Nevada and Texas are among the states with the nation’s worst levels of ozone pollution, which leads to smog-filled skylines.
Mercury pollution is generally associated with power plants. Thirty-nine percent of Latinos live within 30 miles of a power plant, and according to the Centers for Disease Control, Hispanic children have higher levels of mercury in their bodies than do non-Hispanic whites.
An example of mercury pollution can be found in Chicago, the city with the highest number of people who live near coal plants, according to the study. The majority of the residents that live close to two power plants in Pilsen, a town on the city’s south side, are Hispanic.
The report criticizes both the Obama administration and Republican lawmakers for recent steps that the authors claim are blocking the implementation of additional safeguards against air pollution. A few days ago, President Obama delayed stronger standards for ozone levels that had been proposed by the Environmental Protection Agency.
