Political Economy Research Institute

The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) is an institute at the University of Massachusetts Amherst which, according to its mission statement, "...promotes human and ecological well-being through our original research. PERI was established in 1998 by Robert Pollin and Gerald Epstein as an independent research unit inside the University. The money for its foundation came from the personal wealth of one of its co-directors, Robert Pollin, and his father, Abe Pollin. Co-director Pollin's personal wealth remains the main source of financing for PERI's operations nowadays.[1]

Toxic 100

PERI's Toxic 100 list includes one hundred United States companies ranked by the amount of air pollution produced and the relative toxicity of the pollutants, as determined by PERI at the University of Massachusetts Amherst.[2] The top five companies from the adjusted 2016 index are Alcoa, E.I. du Pont de Nemours, General Electric, ExxonMobil and Berkshire Hathaway.[3]

Toxic scores are calculated by the formula:

Emissions x Toxicity x Population Exposure

Emissions are measured in millions of pounds. Population exposure is based on the proximity of nearby residents, and factors such as prevailing winds and height of smokestacks. Toxicity is per the US EPA's Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators.

References
  1. "Inside the offbeat economics department that debunked Reinhart-Rogoff". The Washington Post.
  2. "Top 100 Polluter Indexes". Political Economic Research Institute. University of Massachusetts. Retrieved October 8, 2019.
  3. "Toxic 100 Air Polluters". Retrieved 14 August 2017.


  1. Toxic 100 Air Polluters in 2010 - archived at Web.Archive.org
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