According to an AP report, Indiana ranks #4n the nation for the health risks its residents face from exposure to industrial air pollution. The article also goes on to discuss that minorities are more likely to live in environmentally troubled neighborhoods. (Though, I don’t think this has to do with their minority status, except indirectly. I think it’s just that environmentally troubled neighborhoods are cheaper because of their troubles and, therefore, those with less money will tend to live there for lack of better options.)
Nancy Turner, president and chief executive officer of the American Lung Association of Indiana, said pollutants released by the state’s manufacturing industry contributes to pollution-related health problems.
According to the American Lung Association, in 2002 Indiana had nearly 5,000 cases of lung cancer, nearly 500,000 cases of asthma and more than 200,000 cases of chronic bronchitis.
Indiana’s public health data shows chronic lower respiratory disease is the fourth-leading cause of death in the state, and the most frequent type of cancer in the state occurs in the respiratory system. Indiana ranks 16th in the nation for the prevalence of adult asthma.
“I’m not sure whether it’s racially driven or income driven, but without question, whoever is living there, their health is at risk,” Turner said.
A spokesman for the state’s manufacturing industry said the state’s ranking isn’t surprising given Indiana’s industrial past. Still, he cautioned that air data can be misinterpreted and can be affected by human reporting errors or unrelated medical conditions.
“We have had the benefit of being a leader in industrial production for many, many years,” said Patrick Bennett, vice president of environment, energy and infrastructure at the Indiana Manufacturers Association. “An industrial area that has emissions does not automatically equate to a problem area.”
This report brings me to an intellectual hobby horse of mine: the idea that the market will work better the more business costs are internalized into the business transaction. In this case, particularly, I’m thinking specifically of the tendency of pollution costs of producing products to be externalized to the population at large, rather than incorporated into the cost of producing the product and, therefore, into the price for purchasing the product. The market will work better the more costs are reflected in price.
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