Environmental toxins that harm a child’s brain development and other aspects of health are much more likely to affect poor or minority kids than youngsters from white or more affluent families, a U.S. study shows.

Researchers at the University of Wisconsin, Madison, also believe that local, state and federal policies aren’t doing enough to correct these inequities.

The findings appear in the March/April issue of Child Development.

All children are at risk of harm from exposure to toxic pollutants. But children living in poverty, especially black children and the children of migrant farm workers, are at significantly greater risk, the Wisconsin team said.