Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, California 90095, United States.
Department of Environmental Science, Policy and Management and School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, United States.
Environ Sci Technol. 2024 Aug 13;58(32):14180-14192. doi: 10.1021/acs.est.3c10797. Epub 2024 Jul 30.
Extreme weather events are becoming more severe due to climate change, increasing the risk of contaminant releases from hazardous sites disproportionately located in low-income communities of color. We evaluated contaminant releases during Hurricanes Rita, Ike, and Harvey in Texas and used regression models to estimate associations between neighborhood racial/ethnic composition and residential proximity to hurricane-related contaminant releases. Two-to-three times as many excess releases were reported during hurricanes compared to business-as-usual periods. Petrochemical manufacturing and refineries were responsible for most air emissions events. Multivariable models revealed sociodemographic disparities in likelihood of releases; compared to neighborhoods near regulated facilities without a release, a one-percent increase in Hispanic residents was associated with a 5 and 10% increase in the likelihood of an air emissions event downwind and within 2 km during Hurricanes Rita and Ike (odds ratio and 95% credible interval= 1.05 [1.00, 1.13], combined model) and Harvey (1.10 [1.00, 1.23]), respectively. Higher percentages of renters (1.07 [1.03, 1.11], combined Rita and Ike model) and rates of poverty (1.06 [1.01, 1.12], Harvey model) were associated with a higher likelihood of a release to land or water, while the percentage of Black residents (0.94 [0.89, 1.00], Harvey model) was associated with a slightly lower likelihood. Population density was consistently associated with a decreased likelihood of a contaminant release to air, land, or water. Our findings highlight social inequalities in the risks posed by natural-technological disasters that disproportionately impact Hispanic, renter, low-income, and rural populations.
由于气候变化，极端天气事件变得更加严重，增加了位于有色人种低收入社区的危险场所污染物释放的风险。我们评估了德克萨斯州丽塔、艾克和哈维飓风期间的污染物释放情况，并使用回归模型来估计社区种族/民族构成与与飓风相关的污染物释放的居住接近程度之间的关联。与正常营业期间相比，飓风期间报告的超额释放量增加了两到三倍。石化制造和炼油厂是造成大多数空气排放事件的原因。多变量模型揭示了释放的社会人口差异；与附近没有释放的受监管设施的社区相比，西班牙裔居民增加百分之一与丽塔和艾克飓风期间下风处和 2 公里范围内空气排放事件的可能性增加 5%和 10%（比值比和 95%可信区间=1.05[1.00, 1.13]，联合模型）和哈维（1.10[1.00, 1.23]）。租房者比例较高（1.07[1.03, 1.11]，丽塔和艾克联合模型）和贫困率较高（1.06[1.01, 1.12]，哈维模型）与陆地或水体释放的可能性增加相关，而黑人群体比例（0.94[0.89, 1.00]，哈维模型）与可能性略有降低相关。人口密度与空气、陆地或水体的污染物释放可能性降低始终相关。我们的研究结果强调了自然技术灾害所带来的风险在社会不平等方面的影响，这些风险不成比例地影响了西班牙裔、租房者、低收入和农村人口。
