Environmental Inequality: Assessing the Evidence

POLLUTION LOCATOR|Environmental Inequality: Assessing the Evidence

Underlying claims of environmental discrimination is the belief that pollution may play an important role in the pattern of disparate health status among the poor and people of color in the United States. Indeed, the socioeconomic stratification of American society is mirrored by disparities in several health indicators; the poor are generally less healthy than the rich, those without a high school diploma are less healthy than the college educated, laborers are more likely to die of heart disease than are members of managerial or professional classes, and people of color suffer disproportionately from chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, and diabetes. Moreover, Black workers are more likely to be employed in hazardous occupations resulting in a serious illness or injury than White workers.

The environmental justice movement has fueled a surge of academic and scientific inquiry into the question of environmental inequality in the United States. Research on race and class differences in environmental burdens varies widely, ranging from anecdotal and descriptive studies, to rigorous statistical modeling that quantifies the extent to which race and/or class explain disparities in hazards among diverse communities. Environmental health and exposure indicators in these studies include measurements of proximity to emissions sources (e.g., hazardous waste sites or industrial manufacturers), exposure to specific toxic substances (e.g., pesticides, lead, and outdoor hazardous air pollutants), differences in regulatory enforcement (e.g., Superfund clean-ups), and the distribution of environmental benefits due to regulatory implementation (e.g., clean air, water and access to recreational areas).

Although the studies do not provide a unanimous verdict on the question of environmental discrimination, most of the evidence indicates that there are disparities by race and class in the distribution of environmental hazards, whether defined by facility location, emissions, ambient concentrations of air pollution, or environmental enforcement and clean-up activities.

OVERVIEWS OF US EVIDENCE ON ENVIRONMENTAL INEQUALITIES:

Goldman, B. 1993. Not Just Prosperity: Achieving Sustainability with Environmental Justice. National Wildlife Federation, Washington, DC.

Szasz, A and M Meuser. 1997. Environmental Inequalities: Literature Review and Proposals for New Directions in Research and Theory. Current Sociology 45(3):99-120.

SELECTED STUDIES ON HEALTH DISPARITIES:

Ecob, R, and G Davey Smith. 1999. Income and Health: What is the Nature of the Relationship? Social Science and Medicine 48:693-705.

Haan, M, G Kaplan, and T Camacho. 1987. Poverty and Health: Prospective Evidence From the Alameda County Study. American Journal of Epidemiology 125:989-998.

Hahn, R, E Eaker, N Barker, S Teutsch, W Sosniak, and N Krieger. 1996. Poverty and Death in the United States. International Journal of Health Services 26 (4):673-690.

Kubzansky, LD, LF Berkman, TA Glass, and TE Seeman. 1998. Is Educational Attainment Associated with Shared Determinants of Health in the Elderly? Findings from the MacArthur Studies of Successful Aging. Psychosomatic Medicine 60 (5):578-585

Syme, S, and L Berkman. 1976. Social Class, Susceptibility and Sickness. American Journal of Epidemiology 104 (1):1-8.

Hemingway, H, A Nicholson, M Stafford, R Roberts, and M Marmot. 1997. The Impact of Socioeconomic Status on Health Functioning as Assessed by the SF-36 Questionnaire: The Whitehall II Study. American Journal of Public Health 87 (9):1484-1490.

Kawachi, I, and MG Marmot. 1998. Commentary: What Can We Learn from Studies of Occupational Class and Cardiovascular Disease? American Journal of Epidemiology 148 (2):160-163.

Krieger, N, DL Rowley, AA Herman, B Avery, and MT Phillips. 1993. Racism, Sexism, and Social Class: Implications for Studies of Health, Disease, and Well-Being. American Journal of Preventive Medicine 9 (6):82-122.