{"id":83312,"date":"2020-10-29T14:42:25","date_gmt":"2020-10-29T18:42:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/?p=83312"},"modified":"2021-09-23T18:57:02","modified_gmt":"2021-09-23T22:57:02","slug":"pollution-in-black-neighborhoods-part-of-louisvilles-systemic-racism","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ncrc.org\/pollution-in-black-neighborhoods-part-of-louisvilles-systemic-racism\/","title":{"rendered":"Pollution in Black neighborhoods part of Louisville’s systemic racism"},"content":{"rendered":"

This is one in a series of essays accompanying NCRC\u2019s 2020 analysis that showed <\/span><\/i>more chronic disease and greater risks from COVID-19<\/span><\/i><\/a> in formerly redlined communities. The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views or policy positions of NCRC. <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Thousands of Black and White protesters got a taste recently of what it is like to feel the agony of being gassed by the police. It was painful, sickening and scary.<\/span><\/p>\n

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But citizens in western Louisville are regularly \u201cgassed,\u201d causing long-term health problems. The mayor\u2019s own office admits this truth, with people dying an average of 10 years earlier in western Louisville compared to the rest of the city. In some neighborhoods, the life span is less than in war-torn Iraq according to Louisville\u2019s Health Department.<\/span><\/p>\n

In other words, 60,000 folks (enough to fill Cardinal Stadium) are dying prematurely and most of them are African Americans. As you address \u201csystemic racism\u201d in Louisville look at pollution in Black neighborhoods and the institutions that profit from it. Western Louisville\u2019s air, water and soil are so toxic and rank among the worst of any American city. It is unlivable for a modern American neighborhood.<\/span><\/p>\n

Louisville has the highest levels of pollution among the hundreds of midsize American cities. What does this mean in terms of our health, sustainability, safety and prosperity? In short, local residents are more vulnerable to a host of health problems and educational challenges. Neighborhood quality also is upended with 5,000 abandoned homes.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

How do we know that Louisville has the worst air quality of any midsize city? The EPA provides the most valid and reliable measures of poor air quality. Our research pre-published in Lancet found that Louisville ranks No. 1 when you average out the four EPA measures of pollution in our analysis of air quality in 146 similarly sized cities.<\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n

Residents in neighborhoods near the industries are twice as likely to have either asthma or high blood pressure, four times more likely to have COPD, seven times more likely to have heart disease; and four times more likely to have poor physical health. Scientists widely agree that pollution is a major cause of these medical problems. Maybe, \u201cstaying in place\u201d is not such a good idea if you live in western Louisville, especially when doctors are now telling patients to get out of the area whether for housing, work, school or worship.<\/span><\/p>\n

Pollution does not only result in significantly lower life expectancy, but also results in other issues found in dozens of scientific journal articles including:<\/span><\/p>\n