 |
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
|
The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Rachel A. Morello-Frosch, PhD, MPH, Center for Environmental Studies and Department of Community Health, School of Medicine, Brown University, 135 Angell Street, Box 135, Providence, RI 02912, 401-863-3503, rmf@uclink.berkeley.edu, Manuel Pastor, PhD, Center for Justice, Tolerance and Community, Department of Latin American/Latino Studies, University of California, Santa Cruz, 1156 High Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, James Sadd, PhD, Environmental Sciences, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, CA 90041, and Carlos Porras, Communities for a Better Environment, 5610 Pacific Blvd., Suite 203, Huntington Park, CA 90255.
Environmental justice offers researchers new insights into the juncture of social inequality and public health and provides a framework for policy discussions on the impact of discrimination on the environmental health of diverse communities in the US. Although previous research has focused on the disproportionate burden of environmental hazards on minority residents, few studies have examined inequities in health risks among children. Linking the presence of environmental pollution with adverse health effects is difficult, particularly when diverse populations are exposed to complex, chemical mixtures. A community-academic research collaborative in Southern California examined the issue of children’s health through the lens of environmental justice by making use of recent advances in air emissions inventories and air exposure modeling data from US EPA’s National Air Toxics Assessment and the Cumulative Exposure Project. The demographic distribution of estimated cancer and non-cancer health risks associated with modeled ambient air toxics exposures among school children in the Los Angeles Unified School District was analyzed using bivariate and multivariate statistical analysis. Results indicate that minority students, especially Latinos, are more likely to bear a higher burden of attending school in locations with higher estimated health risks associated with outdoor air toxics. Moreover, estimated respiratory risks appear to be associated with diminished aggregate school performance even after controlling for measures of poverty, teacher quality, English language competency, class size, and parental educational attainment. Future research must better elucidate the potential relationship between respiratory health risks associated with ambient pollution and the academic performance of school-aged children.
Learning Objectives: At the conclusion of this presentation, participants will be able to
Keywords: Environmental Justice, Children
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.