By Peter Montague Pollution causes people to commit violent crimes, according to new research by Roger D. Masters and co-workers at Dartmouth College. Sociologists have known for a long time that violent crimes occur more in some places than in others. Some US counties have rates of violent crime that are 30 times as high as others. The question is why some places have high crime rates and others don't.
Masters says pollution is part of the answer.
Masters has developed what he calls the neurotoxicity hypothesis of violent crime. These traits combine with poverty, social stress, alcohol and drug abuse, individual character and other social factors to produce individuals who commit violent crimes. Masters argues that such a hypothesis must pass five tests. Masters cites studies showing that low-level poisoning by lead, and by manganese, is associated with learning disabilities and attention deficit disorder, which are themselves associated with deviant behaviour. Masters cites seven other studies showing that violent prisoners have significantly elevated levels of lead, manganese, cadmium, mercury or other toxic metals, compared to prisoners who are not violent.