This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
By Jeanetta Williams
As the NAACP state conference president for Idaho, Nevada and Utah, I am responsible for hearing and addressing all types of concerns. In these states far too many of the complaints I hear relate to deprivation of what should be a basic human right for all, the right to breathe clean air.
The racial disparities in air quality lead to disparities in health and quality of life. Historically, an African American making $50,000 per year is more likely to live in an area cited for bad air pollution than a white American making $15,000 per year. Arsenic, dioxins, lead, mercury and other pollutants are spewed daily from various industrial facilities such as incinerators, power plants, factories, etc., putting people at risk across the country. For example, a Clean Air Task Force report on power plant pollution found that emissions from all power plants in the U.S. are responsible for 30,000 premature deaths, 7,000 asthma-related emergency room visits, and 18,000 cases of chronic bronchitis each year.
When opponents denounce safeguards against pollution, such as the Clean Air Act and associated regulations with labels such as "job killing," they disregard the high monetary cost of inaction and who is paying those costs. Consumers are already paying for the less-publicized costs of toxic air quality: mounting health expenses, lost days of school to care of sick kids, poor performance for lead exposed kids who have learning challenges, lost days of work due to illness and trips to take children to the doctor, etc.
Currently, regulations under the Clean Air Act, which aim to reduce pollution in our air, are under attack by polluters. Certain legislative initiatives in Congress are aimed at blocking the functionality of the Clean Air Act. These rules are essential for sensible reductions in air pollution. Supporting these rules would save thousands of lives and prevent heart attacks, hospitalizations, and emergency room visits in the three-state area every year.
A constituent at an NAACP town hall meeting stated that, "The American way of life is based on equal opportunity and there is nothing more basic than having the opportunity to breathe clean air. Clean air means a fair shot at a healthy upbringing. Healthy families have better school attendance, better job performance and a greater quality of life. If basic American values of equal opportunity are to persist, the EPA must take aggressive action to reduce mercury and air toxics in African American and Latino communities across the country. "
Opposing the implementation of the Clean Air Act and its associated regulations would limit the EPA's ability to enforce clean air standards that protect us from significant amounts of harmful air pollution. Our focus must be on retaining and strengthening safeguards which protect the health and well-being of the people living in communities affected by air pollution — more than 50 percent of the U.S. public, and disproportionately communities of color and low income.
Enough is enough. Stronger safeguards are overdue, and now is the time to implement and strengthen standards that protect our communities.
Jeanetta Williams is a former member of the NAACP national board of directors.