Garbage imperialism: health implications of dumping hazardous wastes in Third World countries

This paper calls for studies of the potential health implications of today's hazardous waste disposal practices, and suggests that such studies are urgently needed in Third World countries where industrial nations are increasingly dumping their unwanted waste materials. The United States produces enormous quantities of hazardous waste each year, and approximately 1,200 "priority hazardous waste sites" presently threaten the nation's health. Because of environmental regulations, landfill closings, and citizen opposition to local waste facilities, industrialized countries are increasingly disposing of their problematic materials by shipping them to the Third World, where they pose substantial threats to human health and the environment. From a political economy perspective, this paper suggests that global health would be better served by reducing hazardous waste production, encouraging reusing and recycling, and restricting or banning international shipment of toxic wastes.