美国的农药和环境不公平:根本原因、当前的监管加强以及前进的道路。

Pesticides and environmental injustice in the USA: root causes, current regulatory reinforcement and a path forward.

机构信息

Center for Biological Diversity, Portland, OR, USA.

Texas Southern University, Houston, TX, USA.

出版信息

BMC Public Health. 2022 Apr 19;22(1):708. doi: 10.1186/s12889-022-13057-4.

Abstract

Many environmental pollutants are known to have disproportionate effects on Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) as well as communities of low-income and wealth. The reasons for these disproportionate effects are complex and involve hundreds of years of systematic oppression kept in place through structural racism and classism in the USA. Here we analyze the available literature and existing datasets to determine the extent to which disparities in exposure and harm exist for one of the most widespread pollutants in the world - pesticides. Our objective was to identify and discuss not only the historical injustices that have led to these disparities, but also the current laws, policies and regulatory practices that perpetuate them to this day with the ultimate goal of proposing achievable solutions. Disparities in exposures and harms from pesticides are widespread, impacting BIPOC and low-income communities in both rural and urban settings and occurring throughout the entire lifecycle of the pesticide from production to end-use. These disparities are being perpetuated by current laws and regulations through 1) a pesticide safety double standard, 2) inadequate worker protections, and 3) export of dangerous pesticides to developing countries. Racial, ethnic and income disparities are also maintained through policies and regulatory practices that 4) fail to implement environmental justice Executive Orders, 5) fail to account for unintended pesticide use or provide adequate training and support, 6) fail to effectively monitor and follow-up with vulnerable communities post-approval, and 7) fail to implement essential protections for children. Here we've identified federal laws, regulations, policies, and practices that allow for disparities in pesticide exposure and harm to remain entrenched in everyday life for environmental justice communities. This is not simply a pesticides issue, but a broader public health and civil rights issue. The true fix is to shift the USA to a more just system based on the Precautionary Principle to prevent harmful pollution exposure to everyone, regardless of skin tone or income. However, there are actions that can be taken within our existing framework in the short term to make our unjust regulatory system work better for everyone.

摘要

许多环境污染物对黑人和有色人种以及低收入和高收入社区都有不成比例的影响。这些不成比例影响的原因很复杂,涉及到数百年来通过美国的结构性种族主义和阶级主义维持的系统性压迫。在这里,我们分析现有的文献和数据集,以确定世界上最广泛使用的污染物之一——农药——在暴露和危害方面存在多大程度的差异。我们的目标不仅是确定导致这些差异的历史不公正现象,而且还要确定导致这些差异至今存在的现行法律、政策和监管做法,并最终提出可行的解决方案。农药暴露和危害的差异广泛存在,影响到农村和城市环境中的黑人和有色人种以及低收入社区,而且这种差异存在于农药从生产到最终使用的整个生命周期中。这些差异是由现行法律和法规通过以下几个方面来维持的:1)农药安全双重标准;2)工人保护不足;3)将危险农药出口到发展中国家。通过以下政策和监管做法,种族、族裔和收入方面的差异也得以维持:4)未能实施环境正义执行令;5)未能考虑到意外的农药使用或提供充分的培训和支持;6)未能有效地监测和跟进批准后脆弱社区的情况;7)未能为儿童实施基本保护。在这里,我们确定了联邦法律、法规、政策和做法,这些法律、法规、政策和做法允许农药暴露和危害方面的差异在环境正义社区的日常生活中根深蒂固。这不仅仅是一个农药问题,而是一个更广泛的公共卫生和民权问题。真正的解决办法是将美国转变为一个更公正的系统,该系统基于预防原则,以防止每个人,无论肤色或收入如何,都受到有害污染的暴露。然而,在我们现有的框架内,短期内可以采取一些行动,使我们不公正的监管系统对每个人都更好地发挥作用。

https://cdn.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/blobs/d6fd/9017009/829bfec7f3c0/12889_2022_13057_Fig1_HTML.jpg

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