Examining Helena Chemical Company Using a “Rawlsian Lens.” At the turn of the 21st century, the already vulnerable residents of Mesquite, New Mexico, were receiving an unequal distribution of air, water, and other types of pollution from a neighboring multinational corporation called Helena Chemical. I will examine Helena Chemical Company using justice theory, considering vulnerability, and examining the cases between the Mesquite community and Helena Chemical. The majority of people living in Mesquite are a vulnerable population. The most vulnerable groups are distinguished by researchers Gochfeld and Burger as generally minority and low-income populations, as they are most likely to be potentially more exposed to environmental pollution, as well as having a high susceptibility to negative effects of this exposure to pollution. toxins. According to political writer Hamida Kinge, nearly half of Mesquite residents live below the poverty line and only 7.5 percent have a bachelor's degree or higher (GRADE). Mesquite is a 95 percent Hispanic community, with most of its citizens in working-class jobs, said Lisa Jackson, a former EPA administrator. The reason behind high risk factors for vulnerable groups is the unequal distribution of environmental damage (Gochfeld and Burger YEAR). Mesquite, New Mexico is a very small town and is not large enough to be known to most people outside of the New Mexico-Mexico border area. Besides a few local restaurants, grocery stores, and stores, one of Mesquite's largest employers is the Helena Chemical Company. Helena Chemical employs 40 people of the town's 1,500 residents to store and sell fertilizers and pesticides to local farmers (Jackson). The Mesquite community was increasingly concerned...... middle of paper ...... for action. If they used reflective equilibrium, they would not have known how their decisions and actions would affect them when they chose it. Due to human nature and the fact that corporations, like Helena, become greedy and selfish, there is too much emphasis on reason rather than the safety, justice, and well-being of others. If Helena would abandon their preconceived notions that they want to increase their profits at the expense of others, perhaps they could put themselves in the shoes of city dwellers who live near pollution. The amount of air and water pollution Helena Chemical has cost the underprivileged and vulnerable population of Mesquite, and the way the company has managed its practices are unethical. Rawl's Theory of Justice also proves that Helena Chemical made many unethical and unfair decisions towards the vulnerable residents of Mesquite, New Mexico..