For decades in Houston, where resident Bryan “Lucas” Parras grew up near the city’s shipping channel, neighborhoods have faced the cumulative health impacts of toxic emissions and other pollution. The area is crammed with industrial facilities, chemical plants, and oil refineries. Pollution has become such an ingrained part of life, Parras said, that residents on the city’s East End automatically adjust to the health threats: limiting time outdoors, filtering their water, and making sure to carry their inhalers in case of asthma attacks.
