New Report: The Polluter Next Door
Posted by Physicians for Social Responsibility PA on October 14, 2025
Our new report, The Polluter Next Door: A Report on the Mental and Emotional Impact of Industrial Pollution on Fenceline Communities, is a clear, rigorous examination of precisely how people’s mental and physical health are ruined by industrial pollution—and poorly regulated companies that operate with impunity. Fenceline communities, those right next door to polluters, are most often composed of black, brown, and low-income people; environmental justice is explained and discussed in the report.
The Polluter Next Door also crystallizes the interplay between multiple, simultaneous problems: doctors who downplay or take for granted the effects of pollution on their patients (such as fracking, in Pennsylvania); the multiple sources of pollution that often affect a single individual (fine air pollution particles causing inflammation and a host of health problems; industrial light wrecking sleep); the links not just to cancer but things like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder; and even the hit to generational wealth through falling property values–and owners who cannot sell their homes. Almost 48,000 Americans lose their lives prematurely to air pollution alone each year, so this is a pressing issue with clear and specific consequences.
More in "New Resources"
- Webinar Recording: The Cost-of-Living Crisis: Data-Driven Insights into Housing, Energy, and Essential Spending
- Policy Briefing: How Affordable Housing Contributes to Local Economies and Tax Revenues
- New Data Tool To Track Links Between Incarceration, Economic Mobility
Stay Current in Philly's Higher Education and Nonprofit Sector
We compile a weekly email with local events, resources, national conferences, calls for proposals, grant, volunteer and job opportunities in the higher education and nonprofit sectors.
Subscribe