Two recent studies further demonstrate that the effects of capitalism are dangerous to human health and the environment. One study focuses on the relationship of air pollution to infant deaths. In the other, a chemical found in air fresheners has been linked to long-term lung problems.
Infant death study co-author Michelle Wilhelm, an adjunct assistant professor of epidemiology at UCLA, analyzed the
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Overall, about two infants per 10,000 died of respiratory-related illnesses. But the research indicates that the risk of infant respiratory death more than doubled in seven- to 12-month-old babies who were exposed to “high average” levels of very small particles of pollution known as particulate matter.
The risk of dying of SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) shot up by 15 percent to 19 percent for every one part per hundred million increase in average nitrogen dioxide levels at two months before death. Wilhelm summed up her findings: “It just adds to the body of evidence showing that exposure to high air pollution can lead to infant death.”
Air pollution is a by-product of capitalist industrial development. It’s an ever-present problem in any urban or industrialized area. Industrialization alone is not bad. But for capitalist owners, increasing profits by any means has always been prioritized over protecting human health or the environment. They fight against any attempted regulation or restriction on their quest for making more money, including even the slightest restrictions on releasing pollutants into the air we breathe.
Air fresheners contribute to lung problems
In a separate study, researchers found that a chemical used in products like air fresheners and toilet bowl cleaners can reduce the functioning of human lungs and have a long-term adverse effect on respiratory health.
The study was based on a review of data for 953 adults from the 1988 to 1994 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which included 200 white people, 157 African Americans and 122 Latinos. The researchers looked at the relationship between lung function and blood levels of 11 volatile organic compounds, which are released as gases. Examples of these compounds include benzene, styrene, toluene and acetone.
Researchers found that one of the compounds—1, 4 dicholorobenzene—was associated with reduced lung function. The compound 1, 4 DCB is the primary ingredient in products such as mothballs, air fresheners, toilet bowl cleaners, and insecticide sprays for moth control. Study participants with the highest 1, 4 DCB exposure levels had a 4 percent lower score on a test called FEV1, which measures the amount of air people can exhale in one second. In the study, African Americans had the highest levels of 1, 4 DCB. The study showed that the more 1, 4 DCB that appeared in a person’s system, the less air they could exhale quickly—a sign of weaker lungs.
“Our initial hypothesis was that VOCs in general may be related to reduced lung function, but we were not looking for this one [1, 4 DCB] in particular,” said Leslie Elliott, one of the study’s co-authors from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. While a 4 percent decrease may not sound serious, any long-term reduction in lung function is medically important, Elliott said. “People with asthma and other respiratory illnesses are more affected by any sort of lung irritant,” she said. An earlier study linked 1, 4 DCB and increased asthma in children.
People wishing to avoid 1, 4 DCB while still using air fresheners may have a hard time since the ingredients are often not listed on air freshener products. Air fresheners are perfect examples of capitalism creating a “need” for something that is not necessary for society. The perceived need is created only so that the capitalists can profit from the sale of their new commodity. In this instance, the commodity may be inhibiting your ability to breath and causing long-term damage to your lungs.
