Andrew Friedman

Inequality in the Air

Notwithstanding the fact that New York City is one of the most unequal places on earth, we tend to think that some things are the same for all of us - like the air.

Think again.

According to a comprehensive new study, conducted by New York University and some Bronx-based community organizations, air quality in the South Bronx is dangerously bad. Apparently, the fact that the South Bronx is littered with a disproportionate share of expressways and waste transfer stations is endangering the people who live there. Surprise, surprise.

Yesterday's New York Times reported that,

Airborne particles like dust, soot and smoke that are less than 2.5 micrometers in diameter are small enough to lodge themselves deep in the lungs. Studies have linked pollution of this sort to respiratory problems, decreased lung function, nonfatal heart attacks and aggravated asthma, according to the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Politicians are fond of pointing to personal choices when attributing blame for poverty or public health. When his poverty commission issued their reccomendations recently, Mayor Bloomberg emphasized the need to create incentives for certain personal choices among the poor by making cash payments for getting children immunized, for example.

This study, though, is an important reminder that no matter what personal choices we make, government has an important role to play to promote public health and equity. Even the healthiest eating kid in the South Bronx is stuck breathing poison. And she's breathing it because of government decisions about where to locate highways and waste transfer stations.

The Mayor has received praise for his aggressive war on trans-fats. The evidence regarding air quality is similarly clear. Hopefully, the Bloomberg Administration will take similarly aggressive action to clean up the air. New Yorkers' health, and particularly low-income children's health, depends on it.

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Posted at 8:21 AM, Oct 30, 2006 in Environmental Justice
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