Litt Jill S, Burke Thomas A
Johns Hopkins School of Hygiene and Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland, USA.
J Urban Health. 2002 Dec;79(4):464-81. doi: 10.1093/jurban/79.4.464.
In Baltimore, over 1,000 vacant industrial sites persist across its urban landscape, yet little is known about the potential environmental health risks that may undermine future cleanup and redevelopment activities and the health of those in communities near these sites. This study examined the characteristics of urban brownfield properties in southeast Baltimore, Maryland, and screened sites for their potential environmental hazards. In addition, demographic and health data were evaluated to profile the social and health status of those in brownfield communities. The results show that brownfields in southeast Baltimore represent a range of historic operations, including metal smelting, oil refining, warehousing, and transportation, as well as paints, plastics, and metals manufacturing. The screening method identified a range of substances associated with these properties, including heavy metals, chlorinated hydrocarbons, and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, all of which are suspected or recognized toxicants, and many of which are persistent in the environment. Spatially, these sites are concentrated in white, working class neighborhoods in which poverty levels exceed and educational attainment lags behind state and national averages. Moreover, these sites are concentrated in communities in which excess mortality rates due to respiratory disease, cancer, and heart disease exist when compared to the city, state, and national averages. This investigation demonstrated the usefulness of historic archives, real estate records, regulatory files, and national hazard-tracking systems based on standard industrial classification (SIC) to screen brownfield properties for their hazard potential. This analysis provides the foundation for further site monitoring and testing, cleanup and redevelopment priority setting, risk management strategies, and neighborhood planning, and it illustrates the need for increased health surveillance and disease prevention strategies in affected communities.
在巴尔的摩，其城市景观中仍有1000多处闲置工业用地，但对于可能影响未来清理和再开发活动以及这些场地附近社区居民健康的潜在环境健康风险，人们却知之甚少。本研究调查了马里兰州巴尔的摩东南部城市棕地的特征，并对这些场地的潜在环境危害进行了筛选。此外，还评估了人口统计和健康数据，以了解棕地社区居民的社会和健康状况。结果表明，巴尔的摩东南部的棕地代表了一系列历史运营活动，包括金属冶炼、炼油、仓储和运输，以及油漆、塑料和金属制造。筛选方法确定了一系列与这些场地相关的物质，包括重金属、氯代烃和多环芳烃，所有这些都是疑似或公认的有毒物质，其中许多在环境中具有持久性。在空间上，这些场地集中在白人、工人阶级社区，这些社区的贫困水平超过了州和全国平均水平，教育程度也落后于州和全国平均水平。此外，与城市、州和全国平均水平相比，这些场地集中的社区因呼吸系统疾病、癌症和心脏病导致的超额死亡率较高。这项调查证明了利用历史档案、房地产记录、监管文件以及基于标准工业分类（SIC）的国家危害跟踪系统来筛选棕地的潜在危害是有用的。该分析为进一步的场地监测和测试、清理和再开发优先级设定、风险管理策略以及社区规划奠定了基础，并说明了在受影响社区加强健康监测和疾病预防策略的必要性。
