452 Preventing and Reducing Harm from Toxics
Hidden Costs and Who Pays Them
Many industries that produce and use toxic materials tell people their
materials and products are safe and necessary. But this is not true. Many
chemicals and products that people once thought were safe and necessary,
such as PVC plastic, leaded gasoline, or pesticides, are now known to cause
great harm. And many toxic chemicals have safer alternatives, if industry
would only seek them out and use them.
Industrial development has many “hidden costs” in the form of damage to
the environment and health problems for people. These hidden costs are usually
“paid for” by the people who must live with the harm from toxics, not by the
industries that cause this harm. Allowing these costs to be disconnected from
the businesses engaged in toxic-spreading activity is one way business protects
and increases their profits. These profits are often very large, certainly big
enough to support safer practices and protection of people’s health.
The people who suffer the worst effects of industrial pollution are usually
the workers in polluting industries. Also affected are those who live nearby and
cannot move to less polluted places. Many health problems from toxics cannot
be cured (see Chapter 16). So, even when someone can afford costly treatments,
and most of us cannot, the harm to our health is often permanent. The real
solution is to ban the use of very toxic materials and tightly regulate the use of
toxics that are necessary and do not have safer replacements.
Industries must pay the
cost for safer alternatives
and better safeguards for
workers, communities, and
consumers everywhere.
The cycle of production and toxic waste
Even though industries are responsible for making and using toxic chemicals
and toxic wastes, each of us, no matter whether we live in a small village or
a large city, is affected by the global cycle of production and waste. Whether
it is the plastic bags that are used by people worldwide (see page 389), or the
many toxic substances and production methods that go into making a single
computer, car, or cell phone, we are each connected to a worldwide cycle of
toxic production and toxic waste.
A Community Guide to Environmental Health 2012