NPR's Melissa Block reports that the South Bronx has one of the country's highest asthma rates: estimated as high as 8 times the national average. At some public schools, the problem is especially acute; one principal at a school near an incinerator says that half of her students suffer from asthma. Many of these schools are close to the industrial plants that some have accused of exacerbating asthma. But heavy industry is encouraged in this region, and company officials say there's no proof they're part of the problem.
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