A Terrible Thing to Waste

May 6, 2019
In this searing indictment, scholar and researcher Washington (Medical Apartheid) pores over decades of examples and evidence to assess the damage that “environmental poisoning” has on communities of color. Washington persuasively argues that environmental toxins are much more prevalent in areas where marginalized people live, inequitably harming the brains, health, and future of black, Hispanic, and Native American children; she identifies the consequences as a “collective loss” for the nation and staggering medical and economic costs. Washington offers anecdotal evidence and damning data—on, for example, polychlorinated biphenyl pollution in Anniston, Ala.; ongoing lead poisoning in Flint, Mich., and in Baltimore; and air contamination with pesticides (in Triana, Ala.) and arsenic (in Fort Meyers, Fla.)—to argue that the U.S. should no longer let “industrial greed” trump public safety concerns. She also makes a persuasive presentation of “brain drainers,” including toxic chemicals, substances such as tobacco, vermin, and dangerous microbes, that produce “reduced mental functioning” and “horrifying cognitive symptoms” and disproportionately affect minority populations. The structure of the book leads to frequent repetition, and the intended audience seems to switch from policy makers and Washington’s fellow researchers to parents, as in the third section, which lists actions that might limit or ameliorate children’s exposures to toxins and suggests ways communities might organize in their defense. Nonetheless, this urgent chronicle of ongoing damage will be eye-opening for many readers. Illus. Agent: Lisa Bankoff, ICM Partners.

July 1, 2019

Washington (Medical Apartheid) examines the devastating environmental poisoning impacting communities across the United States. Industrial chemicals have a profound impact on both adults and children, and result in chronic illnesses and intellectual impairment. The intelligence-eroding chemicals have been labeled "brain drainers." Washington passionately and eloquently explains that these harmful chemicals are often found in African American, Latinx, and Native American communities. Chapters detail the negative impact of lead, oil and gas facilities, pesticides, coal mines and plants, and heavy metals along with bugs and microbes. Statistics as well as quotes from pertinent research and writers are combined with human interest stories that illustrate the crisis we're currently facing. Washington encourages political activism and offers information on what we can do to stop the brain drain. VERDICT Recommended for all libraries, especially those with environmental and social and political justice collections. This evocative work will haunt readers long after they've finished reading.--Patricia Ann Owens, formerly at Illinois Eastern Community Coll., Mt. Carmel

Copyright 2019 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

A veteran journalist and scholar reveals the long-ranging impacts of environmental racism on black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities. In this heart-wrenching exposé, the author of Medical Apartheid (2007) zeroes in on the "chemical Armageddon" that has "preferentially affected" black, Indigenous, and Latinx peoples with "chemicals known or strongly suspected to lower intelligence." To frame her thorough study, Washington (Infectious Madness: The Surprising Science of How We "Catch" Mental Illness, 2016, etc.) uses the flawed metric of IQ scores. Though she acknowledges their faulty premise and biased administration, she uses them to describe cognitive impacts because the scores serve as "a predictor of success in school, social settings, work achievements, and lifetime earnings." Citing cases around the United States, Washington clearly presents her research on the expansive effects of toxins, heavy metals, and even drugs that are disproportionately funneled into marginalized communities of color: lead contamination in Baltimore and Flint, where the "water's lead levels were so high that it fell into the EPA's classification for hazardous waste"; polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) poisoning in Anniston, Alabama ("a PCB concentration of just 5 parts per billion in a pregnant mother's blood can have adverse effects on a developing fetal brain"), and the forced implantation of the toxic Norplant ("a surgically inserted contraceptive that can be removed only by a physician and lasts for five years") in black and Latin women. Along with many other well-documented examples, these injustices reveal a chilling reality: Marginalized people of color face not only rampant public health impacts, but also societal blame for their plight. The author also offers "steps that individuals can take to fight for a less toxic environment," uplifting the grassroots environmental justice organizing of black, Indigenous, and Latinx communities. She also provides a helpful glossary and long list of "Known Chemical Brain Drainers." The book falls short only in its lack of a discussion of ableism and its role in marginalizing those with altered cognitive development. A devastatingly important read.

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