“Our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this planet. We all breathe the same air. We all cherish our children’s future. And we all are mortal.” — John F. Kennedy
The high prevalence of asthma in Mississippi is an indicator that Kennedy’s “most basic common link” between all people is in disarray. Increasing rates of asthma are a sign that the most important environmental concern — air quality — is polluted.
A chronic lung disease, asthma gives its victims symptoms such as coughing, shortness of breath and anxiety. In the past, the disease received little attention, primarily because few people had asthma. Now, nine people in the U.S. die each day from asthma. Asthma is the most common chronic disorder in childhood. Nearly one in eight U.S. children has the disease. Smaller in size, children are more prone to suffering from environmental toxins. The exact cause of asthma is unknown, but based on symptoms and the children effect, environmental air pollution is the most likely source.
Since the average American spends 90 percent of his or her time indoors, most asthma advice emphasizes reducing household triggers such as tobacco smoke, dust mites, mold, pets and even cockroaches. Though highly practical, the focus on household triggers deflects the focus from the macro-pollution contributors to asthma. Children spend far more time outdoors. Asthma is much more prevalent in children. Could there be a connection?
Mississippi is being proactive about the asthma problem. In 2010, Gov. Haley Barbour and Rep. Steve Holland decided to do something about Mississippi’s asthma problem. They sponsored a bill that directs schools to be proactive about asthma. Barbour stated, “The Mississippi State Asthma Plan is an urgent, coordinated call to action, challenging us to work toward a common cause.” The act focuses on public awareness and indoor air quality.
Problematically, the bill almost wholly ignores the bigger picture — outdoor air pollution. Perhaps the omission stems from the fact that only nine of the 82 counties in Mississippi have air quality monitors, according to the American Lung Association. Omitting outdoor air pollution also lets big energy, big agriculture, big car off the hook. Without considering these polluters, asthma becomes an individual’s problem. Air pollution is everyone’s problem. Asthma is the symptom.
Asthma is an environmental justice issue. Our most vulnerable people suffer the most — children. Asthma doesn’t impact Mississippi’s children equally. Gender matters. Boys are more likely to suffer than girls. Race matters. The Environmental Protection Agency states that, nationally, blacks are 380 percent more likely to visit the emergency room because of asthma.
Though the Mississippi State Department of Health’s racial disparities chart only examines black and white, the comparison is striking. Whereas 5.8 percent of white male children have asthma, 14.1 percent of black male children suffer through asthma. Based on Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data, an astonishing 20 percent of Hispanic children in Mississippi have asthma. Even education matters; having a high school diploma nearly halves the rate of asthma.
Perhaps most significantly, income matters. Individuals living in households with an annual income greater than $50,000 only have a 4.2 percent rate of asthma. In those houses with less than $25,000 in income, 10.7 percent have the lung disease.
Asthma complicates our state’s efforts to be healthy. Obesity is linked to asthma, especially since exercising takes greater care. A survey from the Mississippi State Department of Health reveals that only 29 percent of Mississippi adults with asthma have a normal body weight. Asthma is also expensive. According to the Mississippi State Department of Health, the total asthma cost to Mississippi was nearly $770 million in 2007. Of course, dollars hardly reflect the human toll.
Mississippi is the fourth most rural state. We face less car emission and urban pollution not because our areas are cleaner, but because fewer people live in those areas. Still, our asthma rates are high. More than 151,000 adults and 66,000 children in Mississippi have asthma, based on a 2008 report.
Agriculture has an effect. Pesticide exposure may help explain Mississippi’s very high asthma rate. Our state uses tons of pesticides on crops.
Dr. Ruth Etzel of George Washington University states that “epidemiologic studies suggest that children with asthma may breathe easier if they are exposed to fewer pesticides.” Studies conducted in Lebanon and California confirm that individuals exposed to herbicides and pesticides during early childhood are very likely to be more prone to asthma. Organophosphates for agriculture, glyphosate (Roundup) on lawns, and pyrethroid insecticides for mosquitoes are just a few of the pesticides that can seriously aggravate lungs.
In a dramatic fashion, the energy sector is increasing pollution in Mississippi’s air by a rapid amount. In the year of Barbour’s asthma plan, Mississippi moved into the Toxic 20 because of pollution from energy production. Mississippi’s air quality rose to 17th in the National Resources Defense Council’s most polluted list. A Mississippi Public Broadcasting report analyzed the findings.
The council’s director, John Walke, was amazed by our decline in air quality. From 2009 to 2010, Mississippi’s toxic emissions from power plants nearly doubled. The 100 percent increase, according to Walke, “is frankly astonishing, and not matched by any other state … clearly something (is) going on.”
The chief of the air division at the Mississippi Department of Environmental Quality is skeptical. Maya Rao said the report was just a “snapshot” and not indicative of the “trends.” How the head official of our air views a statewide doubling in admissions as unimpressive is something to ponder.
Health officials have noticed. The state has a location-specific air quality crisis. Gail Marshall, director of UMMC’s Division of Clinical Immunology and Allergy, said even healthy individuals are at risk for lung disease from increased exposure to pollution in urban, industrial and heavily sprayed agriculture areas.
Doctors and patients know that the quality of our air in the outdoor environment matters. Instead of focusing on just the air within our homes, we should all work together to clean up our state skies.
Neal McMillin is a senior Southern studies major from Madison.
