UK factories - poisoning poor people
Pollution hits poor people hardest. This is the message to the UK Government from Friends of the Earth’s new work linking pollution to poverty.

Environmental issues are inextricably linked to global inequalities - for example, the UK’s contribution to climate change will harm today’s children and future generations far more than ourselves. Climate change and other environmental problems also hit people in poorer countries harder. But environmental impacts within the UK are unjust as well - a point policy makers generally miss. By spelling out how tackling environmental problems can reduce inequalities, we can help persuade the Labour Government that environmental action is good for people, equality and the environment. Friends of the Earth plans to work more on inequalities within countries, between countries and between generations - so that governments consider the rights of everyone when making policies. We see this as the need for ‘environmental justice’.

Friends of the Earth started by looking at pollution injustice in England and Wales. Our Factory Watch website shows where and how much factory pollution is churned out, and now we have matched this information with income data for almost 10,000 areas in the country. These new maps show that the grime of industrial pollution settles on poorer communities most, an unjust situation which deepens inequalities. There are 662 polluting factories in areas with less than £15,000 annual average household income, compared with only five factories in the areas above a £30,000 average. In Londond, 90 per cent of polluting factories are in poorer areas. One area in Teesside has 17 factories - and an average household income of just £6,200.

This work shows that environmentalism is not only a concern for wealthy or well-off people - a common misconception in the UK. Reducing pollution, like reducing traffic or investing in energy efficiency, is an environmental measure which will benefit poorer people the most.

This work is just a beginning. One of the first steps for local people fighting to improve their communities is to know what is going on in their area. Friends of the Earth aims to help people get that information with continuing campaigns for freedom of environmental information. And we want to work with groups who are trying to show the links between environment and inequality - whether this is about factory pollution, fumes from cars, or poor quality housing - and showing who this affects - whether this is poorer people, ethnic communities or people in poorer areas or regions.

Every citizen has the right to good health. No one should suffer ill health because of a poor quality environment, and the environmental inequalities faced by millions of people in the UK need to be exposed, fought and eradicated. Environmentalists, community workers, poverty activists and professionals can all work together to help people get control over their environment, and make environmental justice an issue the Government cannot ignore.

See Friends of the Earth’s pollution injustice website on: http://www.foe.co.uk/pollution-injustice

Simon Bullock
Poverty 103 Summer 1999