Download or read book The Drug Company Next Door written by Alexa S. Dietrich and published by NYU Press. This book was released on 2013-06-07 with total page 252 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Drug companies produce chemical substances that can save, extend, or substantially improve the quality of human life.However, even as the companies present themselves publicly as health and environmental stewards, their factories are a significant source of air and water pollution--toxic to people and the environment. In Puerto Rico, the pharmaceutical industry is the backbone of the island's economy: in one small town alone, there are over a dozen drug factories representing five multinationals, the highest concentration per capita of such factories in the world. It is a place where the enforcement of environmental regulations and the public trust they ensure are often violated in the name of economic development.