Environmental Justice

Executive order 12898

Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Populations

What was worst occupational health disaster in U.S.?

Gauley Creek, West Virginia - during the Great Depression of the 1930s ~500 African American workers died and more than 1,500 were disabled due to silicosis while digging a tunnel for the New Kanawha Power Company

Environmental Justice definition

Hazardous exposures have disproportionate impacts on marginalized communities

what was the unique exposure pathway example in northern Alabama?

While it was being produced, waste water was released into the Huntsville Spring Branch, where DDT persists. The waters flow through a predominantly poor community that relies heavily on fish as an inexpensive source of protein

disadvantaged and underserved communities are likely to suffer

a wide range of environmental burdens

what was the unique exposure pathway example in Detroit, Michigan?

African Americans have been more likely than the general population to fish in polluted waters

intrinsic factors

- age - sex - genetics - race or ethnicity

acquired factors

- chronic medical conditions - health care access - nutrition - fitness - other pollutant exposures - drug and alcohol use - lack of political power

• Disproportionate impacts refer to inequities in levels of

- harmful environmental exposures - deficient services or benefits - diminished ability to withstand or mitigate harms

Vulnerability to harmful effects on health is determined by

- susceptibility - exposure - preparedness - and ability to respond and recover

Environmental justice observations recognized that white communities see

1. faster action 2. better results 3. stiffer penalties

Components of disproportionate impacts include:

1. proximity to pollution sources 2. unique exposure pathways 3. sensitive and susceptible populations 4. multiple and cumulative effects 5. social vulnerability

Warren County, North Carolina

1982, the predominantly African American community in Warren County, North Carolina, protested the siting of a PCB landfill • this incident brought together the environmental and civil rights communities and attracted national attention

LULU

Locally undesirable land use •Waste sties •Industrial facilities •Ambient air pollution •Transportation thoroughfares •Garbage transfer stations •Hog farms

both affected communities and public health practitioners must engage in a dialogue about what is needed to apply

collaborative problem solving

Focus of civil rights groups

environmentally overburdened people of color, low- income, and tribal communities in the US reflects: - profound disappointment with the status of their health - frustration with the public health community's failure to assist in improving their health - anger over the attitude of the businesses complacent about their regulatory obligations and unresponsive to the health problems their neighbors face - bewilderment at the government's failure to understand and correct these shortcomings

oProximity, or closeness, doesn't always equal _________, but it certainly does facilitate ______________________

exposure increased risk of exposure

what did warren county give rise to?

landmark 1987 United Church of Christ (UCC) study, Toxic Wastes and Race in the United States, the first national study of the demographic patterns associated with the location of hazardous waste sites

Environmental justice

represents the convergence of two of the greatest social movements of the latter half of the twentieth century 1. the civil rights movement 2. the environmental movement

social capital helps determine

social determinants of health, factors in the social environment that influence health, such as income distribution, discrimination, access to education, and housing policies

2. Unique exposure pathways example near Detroit, MI

subsistence fishing may require individuals to expose themselves to polluted waters in order to provide food, or, eat contaminated food

Social vulnerability

the concept of social vulnerability recognizes that social factors such as employment status, access to health insurance, language ability, and access to social capital can play a major role in determining the response to environmental insult

environmental racism

the tendency of toxic waste sites and emitters to be located near communities of color

what was the unique exposure pathway example in Puget Sound, Washington?

the waters of Puget Sound, in Washington State, have bacteria that contaminate the shellfish, making it unsafe to eat. The cultural diet of some Asian communities includes plenty of shellfish, so those communities in Washington are at higher risk than communities that do not traditionally eat shellfish.