Obscuring air pollution and pesticides' contribution to depression: the role of the Canadian and New Zealand governments

Over the last five decades environmental health researchers have revealed how exposure to toxicants contributes to physical ailments (e.g., cancers) and psychiatric problems, including anxiety, depression, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disorders, psychosis, and schizophrenia. Social scientists have demonstrated that the relationship between toxicants and physical illness is often obscured or absent in medical information provided by dominant sources such as mass media, online medical publishers, and medical associations. However, little attention has been directed towards the medical information provided about psychiatric problems by these sources, or to the adequacy of medical information provided by government agencies. To address this gap, this chapter examines the information the Canadian and New Zealand governments provide about depression. The analysis reveals that the governments' coverage of depression systematically obscures the association known to exist between depression and key toxicants, including Carbon Monoxide, Nitrogen Dioxide, Sulfur Dioxide, Particulate Matter 2.5, and Particulate Matter 10.