Race, Class, and Environmental Health: A Review and Systematization of the Literature

Brown, Phil

doi:10.1006/enrs.1995.1021

Cited by 285 publications

(182 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

175

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Several studies have reported higher exposures for low-income groups and non-whites for primary pollutants (Brown, 1995;Schweitzer and Valenzuela, 2004), including populations in California in general (Gunier et al, 2003;Pastor et al, 2004) and specifically in Southern California (Morello-Frosch et al, 2001. Consistent with the findings presented here, the proportion of upper income households and whites are higher in highozone areas downwind of New York City and Philadelphia than in the urban core where ozone precursors are emitted (Liu, 1996).…”

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhalation intake of ambient air pollution in California's South Coast Air Basin

Marshall

Granvold

Hoats

et al. 2006

Atmospheric Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reliable estimates of inhalation intake of air pollution and its distribution among a specified population are important for environmental epidemiology, health risk assessment, urban planning, and environmental policy. We computed distributional characteristics of the inhalation intake of five pollutants for a group of $25,000 people ($29,000 persondays) living in California's South Coast Air Basin. Our approach incorporates four main inputs: temporally resolved information about people's location (latitude and longitude), microenvironment, and activity level; temporally and spatially explicit model determinations of ambient concentrations; stochastically determined microenvironmental adjustment factors relating the exposure concentration to the ambient concentration; and, age-, gender-, and activityspecific breathing rates. Our study is restricted to pollutants of outdoor origin, i.e. it does not incorporate intake in a microenvironment from direct emissions into that microenvironment. Median estimated inhalation intake rates (mg d À1 ) are 53 for benzene, 5.1 for 1,3-butadiene, 8.7 Â 10 À4 for hexavalent chromium in fine particulate matter (Cr-PM 2.5 ), 30 for diesel fine particulate matter (DPM 2.5 ), and 68 for ozone. For the four primary pollutants studied, estimated median intake rates are higher for non-whites and for individuals in low-income households than for the population as a whole. For ozone, a secondary pollutant, the reverse is true. Accounting for microenvironmental adjustment factors, population mobility and temporal correlations between pollutant concentrations and breathing rates affects the estimated inhalation intake by 40% on average. The approach presented here could be extended to quantify the impact on intakes and intake distributions of proposed changes in emissions, air quality, and urban infrastructure. r

show abstract

Section: Article In Pressmentioning

confidence: 99%

Inhalation intake of ambient air pollution in California's South Coast Air Basin

Marshall

Granvold

Hoats

et al. 2006

Atmospheric Environment

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The variation caused by these and other factors and the associated uncertainty can not be determined from the reviewed studies. Further, potentially confounding factors (e.g., race, socioeconomic status and income ) have been linked with residence location near pollution sources ( Brown, 1995;Perlin et al, 1995 ). These factors were generally not explored in the reviewed studies.…”

Section: Huang and Battermanmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The indicator has also been used in small -area studies that do not explicitly identify pollutants or sources ( Alexander et al, 1990;Beral, 1990;Ross and Davis, 1990;Elliot et al, 1992a,b ) . In addition, it has been used to identify populations exposed to chemical spills (Madison et al, 1991;Dayal et al, 1992 ), to characterize exposures in risk assessments (Hallenbeck et al, 1993 ), and to contrast exposures of different populations in environmental justice studies (Brown, 1995;Perlin et al, 1995 ). Residence location has been widely used because it is convenient and inexpensive to derive and thought to be broadly applicable.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Residence location as a measure of environmental exposure: a review of air pollution epidemiology studies

Huang

Batterman

2000

J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol

161

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Residence location has long been used to indicate environmental exposure in many epidemiological studies. This indicator is easy to establish, requires little exposure or monitoring data, and is potentially applicable to many types of investigations. The validity, accuracy and utility of residence location as an exposure indicator, however, is challenged by current concerns regarding multiple exposure pathways, persistent and toxic contaminants, and cumulative exposures from non -point, mobile and point sources. This paper reviews 45 epidemiological studies that use residence location to identify study populations and estimate air pollution exposures. Thirteen ( 29% ) of the studies determined environmental exposures based on``proximity'' measures, usually the distance from a subject's residence to a pollutant source. Other studies used``zones'' presumed to have equal pollutant levels. Several studies combined zone and proximity approaches. Exposures were quantified using monitoring data in 27 ( 60% ) studies and dispersion modeling in two ( 4% ) studies. Sixteen ( 36% ) studies did not use any environmental data to quantify exposure. A total of 31 ( 69% ) of the studies reported significant associations between health endpoints and the pollutant exposures represented by residence location. In general, comprehensive and systematic approaches to identify and estimate population exposures were not used, and the exposure estimates were therefore deemed likely to have great uncertainty. Unless exposure levels among groups are verified, it cannot be determined whether nonsignificant associations between exposures and health endpoints indicate a lack of measurable health effects, or are merely a result of exposure misclassification. Site -specific and quantitative exposure assessments are needed to better quantify and confirm exposures within such studies, as well as to permit interpretations and comparisons across studies. Journal of Exposure Analysis and Environmental Epidemiology (2000) 10, 66 ± 85.

show abstract

“…20 An earlier survey found that 71% of Hispanics and 62% of blacks live in US areas where Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) air pollution standards had not been attained, compared with 52.5% of whites. 30 In its report on salt, the American Medical Association estimated that 1.3 g/day lower lifetime salt intake would save 150,000 lives annually as individuals advance from age 25 to 55. 31 Salt intake is an important risk factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease, primary causes of death and disparities in the USA.…”

Section: Disproportionate Exposures To Environmental Hazards and Unsamentioning

confidence: 99%

To Reduce Urban Disparities in Health, Strengthen and Enforce Equitably Environmental and Consumer Laws

2009

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

While observers agree that reducing disparities in health is an important health priority for the USA, there is little agreement and no comprehensive plan to achieve this goal. In this commentary, we make the case for reducing the disproportionate exposure to environmental and consumer hazards as a promising strategy for reducing health disparities. Exposures to environmental risks such as air pollution, lead, and hazardous wastes and to consumer products such as tobacco, alcohol, and unhealthy food have been identified as significant threats to health and important contributors to disparities in health. Strengthening the regulations that prevent exposure to these harmful substances and enforcing these rules equitably could bring benefits to the population as a whole and especially to the disenfranchised, primarily urban, populations that are most exposed. The current policy environment may present a window of opportunity for pursuing this strategy.

show abstract

Race, Class, and Environmental Health: A Review and Systematization of the Literature

Cited by 285 publications

References 0 publications

Inhalation intake of ambient air pollution in California's South Coast Air Basin

Inhalation intake of ambient air pollution in California's South Coast Air Basin

Residence location as a measure of environmental exposure: a review of air pollution epidemiology studies

To Reduce Urban Disparities in Health, Strengthen and Enforce Equitably Environmental and Consumer Laws

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About