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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Thursday, July 8,
2004
Joel Finkelstein, 202.285.0113
Lorraine Quirroga, 202.365.4053
Gabriela D. Lemus, Ph.D, 202.841.5202
NEW ANALYSIS:
More than 7 out of 10
Latinos Live In Polluted
Communities
SAN ANTIONIO, TX – A new report issued today by
the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), with the support of Clear
the Air, found that more than 7 out of 10 Hispanic Americans are breathing air
that violates federal pollution standards. Hispanic Americans face a threat 16
percent greater than the overall population.
The report, Air of Injustice: How Power Plant
Pollution Affects the Health of Hispanics and Latinos, documents the impact of
air pollution on Hispanic Americans, summarizing, for the first time, the
statistics available regarding the health impacts of this pollution, and taking
a special look at air pollution from power plants, the largest industrial source
of pollution.
“Our civil rights must include the right to
breathe healthy air, the right to raise healthy children, the right to challenge
the companies that pollute and petition the government charged with protecting
us,” said Hector M. Flores, LULAC National President. “On this, our 75th
anniversary, we are demanding our leaders recognize the effect air pollution is
having on our families and demand real enforcement of clean air laws and real
steps toward more stringent standards. Recent years have seen attempts to
weaken clean air laws, and our people are paying the price.”
In the Foreword to the report, New Mexico
Governor Bill Richardson wrote, “This report confirms what many have feared:
Hispanic communities disproportionately suffer health problems that result from
living with pollution from power plants. Low-income and minority populations
are subject to elevated environmental risks throughout the country, so this
finding may not be surprising. But it is factual information that can provide a
foundation for change”
The report, includes among its findings:
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In 2002, 71 percent of Hispanics lived in
counties that violated federal health standards for ozone or particulate
pollution. This is compared to 55 percent of the overall population.
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The incidence of asthma in
children of Latino mothers is two and a half times that of non-Latino white
children.
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52 percent of Latinos under the
age of 65 do not have health insurance. Overall, Hispanics account for an
alarming one-quarter of the nation’s 74 million uninsured people
The
increased exposure to air pollution makes Latino families more vulnerable to
health problems associated with air pollutants such as low birth weight and
asthma attacks. Factors such as poverty, language barriers and lack of access
to health care increase the danger.
“The
Latino community suffers from the health threats associated with air pollution
at epidemic proportions,” said Angela
Ledford, Director of Clear the Air. “All Americans deserve stronger safeguards
to reduce pollution from the oldest and dirtiest power plants. But the tens of
millions of Hispanic Americans who breathe
dirty air are among those with the most to gain – and the most to lose if we
continue doing nothing.”
See attached fact sheet for more findings.
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