Introduction

According to the United States Census Bureau, over 37.9 million people in the United States live in poverty; that is nearly 11.6 percent of the population living with an individual income of under $13,590 (Creamer, 2022).

Yet, a study done at the University of Michigan found that "more than half of all people in the United States who live within 3.0 kilometers of a hazardous waste facility are people living in poverty" (Erickson, 2016).

Even though the population of impoverished individuals in the US only occupies 11.6% of the population, more than half of those residing near waste sites were considered lower income. This can be explained through a process known as environmental classism.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), environmental classism can be defined as the unequal distribution of environmental burdens, such as the dumping of hazardous waste and low urban planning, in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods (EPA, 2022).

This disproportionate burden on neighborhoods has left many economically less fortunate individuals living in unsanitary, waste-filled environments without the economic means to move.

Through this, an imperative relationship can be noted between economically burdened neighborhoods and their connection to waste facilities as well as lower environmental conditions.

The discrepancies present through environmental classism have been long studied and proven over the past decades; however, this issue has recently become exacerbated through studies on the relationship between disproportionate environmental conditions and illnesses.

Infectious diseases and chronic illnesses have been directly associated with increased exposure to hazardous waste, insects, and forms of insect removal that can commonly be found in these neighborhoods (Bender, 2022).

Despite this, no attempts have been made to repair overburdened neighborhoods or prevent environmental classism. Therefore, in response to recent findings, the question arises: to what extent are environmental disparities in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods linked to infectious and chronic diseases in the United States (US)

Infectious Diseases

The most pressing issue with environmental disadvantages in impoverished neighborhoods is the spread of infectious diseases through pests. According to a study conducted by Fast Company, communities with higher rates of poverty are nearly seven degrees Fahrenheit hotter than nearby affluent areas due to factors such as less tree canopy coverage, greater building density, and a higher presence of asphalt streets (Toussaint, 2021).

The lack of urban developments causes disadvantaged areas to reflect less heat and instead retain it. Moreover, researchers at the University of Michigan revealed that low-income communities were targeted by pollution facilities (Erickson, 2016). Lower-income neighborhoods tend to be located near waste sites and have higher temperatures.

Eric Bender, in an article from Knowable Magazine, explains these favorable conditions, higher temperatures and greater exposure to pollutants through waste sites, “act as playgrounds for disease-carrying pests such as mosquitoes” (Bender, 2022).

Thus, this highlights the link between disproportionate qualities of lower-income neighborhoods and the higher density of pests. One of the most notorious pests is the anopheles mosquito, which is the main carrier of malaria in the United States.

The World Health Organization describes malaria as a grave, life-threatening disease that puts nearly half of the world's population at risk every year (World Health Organization, 2023). Through anopheles mosquitoes alone, nearly 2000 Americans yearly are affected by malaria (CDC, 2022). Malaria, a highly infectious disease, puts the US population at risk, especially impoverished communities.

The US EPA notes that mosquitoes commonly lay eggs in plastic covers or tarpaulin, bottle caps, and old tires found in waste disposal sites (EPA, 2022). The high density of waste disposal sites in lower-income areas creates homes for mosquitoes to grow and spread quickly, making them more prone to malaria. Furthermore, anopheles mosquitoes thrive in regions with warm temperatures, especially above 68 degrees Fahrenheit (UCAR, n.d.).

Therefore, the warm climates created through the lack of development in impoverished areas increase the likelihood of mosquitoes and the spread of malaria. Likewise, rodents prefer warmer areas and require a food supply to grow and remain active ("The Changing Seasons," n.d.).

Higher temperatures and the presence of waste sites in disadvantaged communities harbor ideal environments for these rodents.

This poses a significant issue because the spread of the Hantavirus can be linked to wild rodents like mice and rats (2018). Hantavirus is a severe class of infectious diseases that causes hantavirus pulmonary syndrome, which is a severe and sometimes fatal respiratory disease in humans (CDC, 2013).

A high density of pests like rats in lower-income neighborhoods exposes them to a highly dangerous disease. Many individuals in this socio-economic class are unable to afford treatment and even those who can still face a 39% mortality rate and lifelong shortness of breath (CDC, 2013).

Those who become infected with Hantavirus in low-income areas are unable to afford treatment and can be left with lifelong symptoms. More importantly, the New York State Department of Health states that the Hantavirus can be present in rodent urine, saliva, and feces, which can easily become airborne in enclosed spaces such as homes ("Hantavirus," 2018).

Despite the link between rodent excreta in homes and a higher risk of hantavirus, there is still a detrimental lack of pest prevention and error in the positioning of waste sites near living communities. The issue of Hantavirus spreading rapidly within confined spaces such as homes becomes highlighted by environmental classism occurring in neighborhoods, where houses are located.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends the sanitation of floors and the removal of waste from homes and nearby areas to prevent rodent spread and to combat the Hantavirus (McConnell, 2014).

However, the location of waste sites in close proximity to residential areas and poor public sanitation are beyond the control of the residents. These issues require direct intervention from the government or public authorities in order to be addressed effectively.

Chronic Diseases

On top of the direct impacts of pests in the environment, the use of pesticides and other forms of insect removal poses further health concerns. The EPA explains that pesticides are chemicals used to kill or control pests, including rodents and insects (“Pesticides and their Impact on Indoor Air Quality,” 2022).

The use of pesticides is the most widespread and accessible solution to combat the spread of pests in the United States, being able to combat pests ranging from rodents to mosquitoes (EPA, 2013).

However, this reliance on toxic chemicals comes at a cost to human health, particularly for underprivileged populations who may not have access to pest control methods other than the ones available to purchase in their nearby stores due to high costs.

The US Environmental Protection Agency warns that the use of pesticides in households may cause long-term damage to the liver and central nervous system, as well as an increased risk of cancer (“Pesticides and their Impact on Indoor Air Quality,” 2022).

Thus, the use of pesticides to exterminate pests from residential areas exposes the impoverished population to chronic health concerns. Impoverished residents are left with the risk of infectious diseases through pests or having to use pesticides that are laced with harmful carcinogens.

They do not have the financial resources to move to better-maintained areas, and they lack the ability to voice their concerns about the cause of the pest infestations. Moreover, there is a direct correlation between the placement of waste sites and a variety of chronic health issues.

A study done by employing data about the placement of hazardous sites and demographics in the United States identified a disproportionately high concentration of lower-income individuals around hazardous sites (Mohai, 2015).

Through their findings, neighborhoods classified by the US Census to have lower property values and lower average income levels tended to be located closer to a hazardous waste site or have a higher concentration of waste sites in their area. The theme of environmental classism continues to be proven case after case.

However, in the context of chronic illnesses, the placement of waste sites poses an especially detrimental concern. Vrijheid of the United Kingdom Environmental Epidemiology Unit emphasizes that residency near polluted waste sites is linked to an increase in risk for adverse health effects such as “bladder, lung, stomach cancer, and leukemias” (Vrijheid, 2000).

Chronic diseases like cancer are linked with the potential excess carcinogens like lead and mercury around waste sites, posing a serious health risk to overburdened communities that are positioned closer to hazardous waste sites. The residents are unable to influence the positioning of these superfund sites and cannot find new homes due to their financial standing.

More crucially, the chemicals, toxic fumes, and dust that are present within landfill sites become intensified through the decomposition of waste materials in favorable weather conditions (Njoku, 2019).

Njoku explains that higher temperatures hasten the rate of decomposition, further endangering communities living near landfill sites (Njoku, 2019).

The already present risk of chronic conditions by residing near landfill sites is heightened by the intense temperatures within economically challenged neighborhoods. Overall, the government's lack of urban planning and the EPA’s lack of restrictions surrounding the placement of waste sites near neighborhoods leaves the populations at high risk of chronic diseases.

Conclusion

On the other hand, many argue that various other factors could be responsible for the environmental disparities in the vicinity of impoverished neighborhoods. One common argument against the link between pollution sites and impoverished neighborhoods is post-siting demographic change, where impoverished individuals relocate to an area following the addition of a waste site (Mohai, 2015).

However, further research has revealed this claim as being evidently false. Mohai's analysis concluded that waste sites deliberately targeted underprivileged communities, placing superfund sites in areas where the population was already composed of around 80% impoverished individuals (Mohai, 2015).

Therefore, the claim is disproved, as the majority of the population residing near hazardous sites were already impoverished, indicating that the arrival of new impoverished individuals was merely an additional effect.

Nonetheless, this argument is not completely false. Studies using both distance-based and unit hazard-based methods within a 3-kilometer radius also revealed that, following the construction of toxic waste facilities, home prices dropped and a large number of low-income residents moved to the area (Mohai, 2015).

It remains clear that the growth in population following waste site construction does not discredit the evidence of environmental classism in low socio-economic areas but just slightly skews the correlation. Additionally, it can be argued that there is no guaranteed link between pesticides and chronic illnesses, but rather just an increased risk (Bassil, 2007).

Bassil explains that while there were positive associations between chronic diseases like cancer and the use of pesticides, using a pesticide within your home does not guarantee the development of a tumor or other chronic concerns (Bassil, 2007).

Despite this, the increased risk of chronic illnesses alone is sufficient damage to require further sanitation and pest prevention methods within impoverished communities. The removal of waste sites and implementation of urban greening methods could lower the density of pests in low-income neighborhoods and remove the chronic risks of pesticides completely.

These potential efforts demonstrates how work can still be done to lower the risk of developing health concerns from pests/pesticides in poverty-stricken neighborhoods. Ultimately, there exists an obvious connection between the detriments of deprived neighborhoods and their risk of infectious and chronic illnesses.

These communities lack appropriate urban planning, and the government has not regulated the positioning of waste disposal sites. Consequently, concerns regarding pests, pesticides, carcinogen exposure, and related health issues have emerged and been proven to be associated with the income level of a residential area.

Therefore, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, an agency with the power to manage and reposition waste sites, should enact restrictions on the placement of hazardous waste sites near all living areas. A possible solution, as suggested by The Urban Institute Initiative Research Group, is the removal of all superfund sites (manufacturing facilities, processing plants, landfills, and mining sites) within 1.8 miles of living areas (Taylor, 2022).

The group’s proposed solution would successfully remove the increased risk of chronic illness from all neighborhoods, regardless of income level or house pricing. Specifically, outside of the 1.8-mile radius, superfund sites would pose virtually no risk to the health of individuals living around them and would not release a high level of carcinogens/toxins (Taylor, 2022).

Moreover, initiatives and funding should be provided to lower-income communities to allow them to implement urban greening within their communities. Urban greening of just 35 percent of the current urban surface would allow for surface temperature decreases of 2.5–6 °C and the removal of 0.27 kg to 0.35 kg of harmful emissions from the air (Quaranta, 2021).

Ideally, the implementation of urban greening within disadvantaged neighborhoods would gradually remove the currently present carcinogens/pollutants in the air and prevent the growth of further pests. The drop in temperature would defer the current pest populations and prevent the reproduction of mosquitoes and rodents, lowering the spread of infectious diseases.

In addition, the removal of carcinogens from the air would diminish the risk of contracting chronic illnesses. Overall, the long-standing health disparities within impoverished neighborhoods in the United States can be reversed once government agencies begin to recognize the detrimental causes.

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Acknowledgement

The Institute for Youth in Policy wishes to acknowledge Gwen Singer, Connor Cowan, Paul Kramer, Carlos Bindert and other contributors for developing and maintaining the Effective Discourse Department and associated Fellowship programming.

References

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