Transportation Equity Cooperative Research Program

An Approach for Identifying Environmental Justice Communities at Risk toMobile-Source Related Air Pollution

ByTimothy J. Buckley, Ph.D.The Ohio State UniversityCollege of Public HealthDivision of Environmental Health SciencesA333C Starling Loving Hall320 W. 10

AvenueColumbus, Ohio 43210-1240AndTimothy C. Matisziw, Ph.D.The Ohio State UniversityCenter for Urban and Regional Analysis0126 Derby Hall154 N. Oval MallColumbus, Ohio 43210-1361ContributorGlenn Robinson, MA. MM., Project PIBaltimore Region Environmental Justice in Transportation ProjectSchool of Engineering and Institute for Urban ResearchMorgan State University1700 East Cold Spring LaneBaltimore, MD 21251

February 22, 2008

Background and Rationale.

Traffic-related air pollution has been implicated as a serious public health threat by agrowing and increasingly convincing body of epidemiologic literature, which has linkedtraffic pollutant exposure with non-specific mortality(Friedman et al. 2001), cancer(Pearson et al. 2000; Knox 2005), and a variety of cardiovascular(Bigert et al. 2003) andrespiratory effects (Friedman et al. 2001; Brunekreef et al. 1997; Wjst et al. 1993; Weilandet al. 1994). In addition, risks from this exposure are disproportionately borne by racialminority and socio-economically disadvantaged subpopulations (Green et al. 2004;Apelberg et al. 2005; Gunier et al. 2003). While the adverse health consequences,epidemiology, and social disparities are already compelling, it is clear that furtherelucidation is necessary of the magnitude, chemical composition, and variability ofhuman exposure, and source-to-effect mechanisms. Community exposure to a complexarray of traffic-related pollutants is determined by vehicle volume, as well as variedemissions characteristics of vehicles, such as differing tailpipe emissions, heat soak, tireand brake wear, and road dust re-suspension. This underlying variability in emissionsdrives highly dynamic concentrations of traffic-related pollutants, which are furthermodified by meteorology, source proximity, and human time-activity patterns.Automobiles and trucks are a major source of air pollution including such toxins andirritants as carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen oxides (NO

), volatile organic compounds(VOCs), particulate matter, and particle-bound polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons(PAHs). In the urban environment, high-density traffic is brought in close proximity todensely populated communities. This is particularly true in some older East Coast citieslike Baltimore where row-house neighborhoods are within a couple of meters of heavilytraveled urban corridors.Environmental justice is a term used to describe the movement concerned withinequities in the distribution of adverse environmental and health consequences ofindustrial activities and environmental policies (U.S.EPA 2004a). The movement grewfrom early observations that a seemingly unequal burden of pollution fell ondisenfranchised and disadvantaged communities, often characterized by lower incomesand high proportions of minorities (Brown 1995). With the issuance of PresidentialExecutive Order 12898 in 1994, achieving “environmental justice” was integrated intothe missions of all federal agencies (Clinton 1994). The U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency (EPA) defines environmental justice to mean that “no group of people,including a racial, ethnic, or a socioeconomic group” should be disproportionatelyaffected by “industrial, municipal, and commercial operations or the execution offederal, state, local, and tribal programs and policies” (U.S.EPA 2004a).There is ample evidence that minority and low-income communities bear adisproportionate burden of exposure to many environmental contaminants (Brown1995; Institute of Medicine 1999), including air pollution (Samet et al. 2001; Schweitzerand Valenzuela 2004). Because nationwide ambient monitoring data are available forthe criteria air pollutants (carbon monoxide, lead, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, particulatematter, and sulfur dioxide), we have some means for assessing exposure and risk indisadvantaged and minority communities. However, considerably less is known about

the distribution of exposure to and risk from the wide range of hazardous air pollutants(HAPs or “air toxics”) identified by Congress in the Clean Air Act Amendments (1990),because nationwide ambient monitoring is not possible due to the sheer number ofpollutants and their diverse chemical properties (Caldwell et al. 1998; Morello-Frosch etal. 2000; Woodruff et al. 1998).A recent analysis of modeled national estimates suggests that ambient concentrations ofHAPs exceed benchmark risk levels for cancer and non-cancer endpoints in many areasof the country (Caldwell et al. 1998; Woodruff et al. 1998; Woodruff et al. 2000).Furthermore, several recent studies have documented a disproportionate burden of airtoxics exposure and/or risk falling on minority and low-income populations. Thesestudies have included varying sources of exposure, including high traffic density (Greenet al. 2004; Gunier et al. 2003), location of Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) and othertreatment, storage, and disposal facilities (Morello-Frosch et al. 2002; Pastor et al. 2001;Perlin et al. 2001), and modeled estimates from EPA’s CEP (Lopez 2002; Morello-Froschet al. 2002).Given the compelling evidence of a health threat that is exacerbated by environmentalinjustice, we have developed a strategy for identifying communities at risk usingavailable public data. The identification of such communities is a necessary first step toempower communities, design epidemiological studies to further elucidate the threat,and implement intervention studies to address the threat.

Assessing Transportation-Related Health Risk in Baltimore, Maryland

As discussed earlier, the impact of transportation on public health is a growing concernin many metropolitan areas world-wide. Here we focus on Baltimore, Maryland a majormetropolitan area in the United States to illustrate how existing information can be usedin identifying communities at risk. Baltimore is typical of many old large east coastcities with a housing stock that is dominated by row homes built in close proximity tobusy urban arterial roadways. In this section we describe existing relevant data andtheir analysis for the purpose of identifying communities at risk from transportation-related air pollution. Using these existing data, we have developed a risk index toidentify communities at risk due both to socio-economic status and proximity to trafficemissions.

Data

Central to identifying communities at risk is the acquisition and analysis of data sourcesthat can be used to derive indicators known to influence community exposure totransportation activities. Several such indicators include proximity of residentiallocations to transportation infrastructure (and related activity) as well as some measureof socio-economic status. Increased proximity to transportation activity is thought toincrease health risk posed by transportation while decreased socio economic status isthought to increase risk of health impacts to effected populations. Several types ofgeographic information are required for calculation of these risk indicators. First, onemust account for the location of residential locations as well as how they are to be