Industrial pollution is not only a problem for Europe and North America but it is also an extremely serious problem in some developing countries. Economic growth is a very important goal for these countries. They want to develop new industries, so they put few controls on industries which cause pollution in order to attract large international companies. Catanduva, an industrial town of 85,000 people in Brazil, is an example of the relationship between industrial development and pollution. In 1954, Catanduva had no industry. Today it has more than twenty large factories, which produce many pollutants. The people of the town are exposed to a large number of poisonous substances in their environment. In other words, these people have no protection against these harmful, toxic subtances. The results of this exposure can be clearly seen. Birth defects are extremely common, and medical science is still not able to correct many of these defects.
For example , one out of every 200 babies suffers from anencephaly, a very unusual type of brain damage. Usually only one out of every 5000 babies is born with this condition. Other serious health problems are caused by the pollution. Among children and adults, asthma and other lung problems are sometimes twelve times more common in Catanduva than in other places. It is true that Brazil, like many other countries, has laws against pollution, but the government does not enforce these laws strictly enough. It is cheaper for companies to ignore the laws and pay the fines (money that is paid as punishment) than to buy the expensive equipment that will reduce the pollution. It is clear, therefore, that economicm growth is more important to the government than the health of the workers.
However, the responsibility does not completely lie with the Brazilian government. The example of Catanduva shows that international companies are not acting in a responsible way either. Large companies from France, Italy and the U.S. own a number of the factories in the town. They are doing things in Brazil that they cannot do at home because if they do, their governments severely punish them and put them out of business.
