Chakraborty Jayajit, Collins Timothy W, Grineski Sara E, Montgomery Marilyn C, Hernandez Maricarmen
School of Geosciences, University of South Florida, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Tampa, FL 33620, USA.
Risk Anal. 2014 Nov;34(11):2005-20. doi: 10.1111/risa.12224. Epub 2014 Jun 9.
While environmental justice (EJ) research in the United States has focused primarily on the social distribution of chronic pollution risks, previous empirical studies have not analyzed disparities in exposure to both chronic (long-term) and acute (short-term) pollution in the same study area. Our article addresses this limitation though a case study that compares social inequities in exposure to chronic and acute pollution risks in the Greater Houston Metropolitan Statistical Area, Texas. The study integrates estimates of chronic cancer risk associated with ambient exposure to hazardous air pollutants from the Environmental Protection Agency's National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment (2005), hazardous chemical accidents from the National Response Center's Emergency Response Notification System (2007-2011), and sociodemographic characteristics from the American Community Survey (2007-2011). Statistical analyses are based on descriptive comparisons, bivariate correlations, and locally derived spatial regression models that account for spatial dependence in the data. Results indicate that neighborhoods with a higher percentage of Hispanic residents, lower percentage of homeowners, and higher income inequality are facing significantly greater exposure to both chronic and acute pollution risks. The non-Hispanic black percentage is significantly higher in neighborhoods with greater chronic cancer risk, but lower in areas exposed to acute pollution events. Households isolated by language--those highly likely to face evacuation problems during an actual chemical disaster--tend to reside in areas facing significantly greater exposure to high-impact acute events. Our findings emphasize the growing need to examine social inequities in exposure to both chronic and acute pollution risks in future EJ research and policy.
虽然美国的环境正义（EJ）研究主要集中在慢性污染风险的社会分布上，但以往的实证研究并未在同一研究区域分析长期（慢性）和短期（急性）污染暴露方面的差异。我们的文章通过一项案例研究解决了这一局限性，该研究比较了得克萨斯州大休斯顿都市统计区慢性和急性污染风险暴露方面的社会不平等情况。该研究整合了与环境保护局国家尺度空气毒物评估（2005年）中环境暴露于有害空气污染物相关的慢性癌症风险估计、国家响应中心应急响应通知系统（2007 - 2011年）中的危险化学品事故，以及美国社区调查（2007 - 2011年）中的社会人口特征。统计分析基于描述性比较、双变量相关性以及考虑数据空间依赖性的局部推导空间回归模型。结果表明，西班牙裔居民比例较高、房主比例较低且收入不平等程度较高的社区面临的慢性和急性污染风险暴露显著更大。在慢性癌症风险较高的社区，非西班牙裔黑人比例显著更高，但在遭受急性污染事件的地区该比例较低。因语言而孤立的家庭——那些在实际化学灾难期间极有可能面临疏散问题的家庭——往往居住在面临高影响急性事件暴露显著更大的地区。我们的研究结果强调，在未来的环境正义研究和政策中，越来越需要审视慢性和急性污染风险暴露方面的社会不平等情况。
