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.