Research Hub

As a replication and extension of two previous studies [Pastor, M. Jr., Sadd, J., and Morello-Frosch, R., 2004. Reading, writing and toxics: children's health, academic performance, and environmental justice in Los Angeles. Environment and Planning C: Government and Policy, 22 (2), 271-290, Lucier, C., et al., 2011. Toxic pollution and school performance scores: environmental ascription in East Baton Rouge Parish, Louisiana. Organization & Environment, 24 (4), 421-441], the current study seeks to expand on the growing literature linking environmental inequality and disparities in educational outcomes among vulnerable populations by identifying the environmental determinants of variation in school performance in Worcester County, Massachusetts. Our findings show that schools rating lower in school performance were more likely to be located in more polluted areas, and that these schools had higher percentages of low-income and minority students. Our newly introduced, more targeted measure of toxicity is significant in all three equations in the present study. It is important to note that these significant impacts are found in a county that has much lower levels of overall pollution than in the sites studied previously. That is, the effect of toxins is significant even where pollution levels are modest. © 2013 © 2013 Taylor & Francis.

Published Dec 28, 2012

Rosofsky, A., Lucier, C. A., London, B., Scharber, H., Borges-Mendez, R., & Shandra, J. (2014). Environmental ascription in Worcester County, MA: toxic pollution and education outcomes. Local Environment, 19(3), 283–299. https://doi.org/10.1080/13549839.2013.788485

This study examines race- and income-based disparities in cancer risks from air toxics in Cancer Alley, LA, USA. Risk estimates were obtained from the 2005 National Air Toxics Assessment and socioeconomic and race data from the 2005 American Community Survey, both at the census tract level. Disparities were assessed using spatially weighted ordinary least squares (OLS) regression and quantile regression (QR) for five major air toxics, each with cancer risk greater than 10−6. Spatial OLS results showed that disparities in cancer risks were significant: People in low-income tracts bore a cumulative risk 12% more than those in high-income tracts (p < 0.05), and those in black-dominant areas 16% more than in white-dominant areas (p < 0.01). Formaldehyde and benzene were the two largest contributors to the disparities. Contributions from emission sources to disparities varied by compound. Spatial QR analyses showed that magnitude of disparity became larger at the high end of exposure range, indicating worsened disparity in the poorest and most highly concentrated black areas. Cancer risk of air toxics not only disproportionately affects socioeconomically disadvantaged and racial minority communities, but there is a gradient effect within these groups with poorer and higher minority concentrated segments being more affected than their counterparts. Risk reduction strategies should target emission sources, risk driver chemicals, and especially the disadvantaged neighborhoods.

Published Dec 3, 2012

James W, Jia C, Kedia S. Uneven Magnitude of Disparities in Cancer Risks from Air Toxics. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2012; 9(12):4365-4385. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph9124365

Most of currently reported models for predicting PM2.5 concentrations from satellite retrievals of aerosol optical depth are global methods without considering local variations, which might introduce significant biases into prediction results. In this paper, a geographically weighted regression model was developed to examine the relationship among PM2.5, aerosol optical depth, meteorological parameters, and land use information. Additionally, two meteorological datasets, North American Regional Reanalysis and North American Land Data Assimilation System, were fitted into the model separately to compare their performances. The study area is centered at the Atlanta Metro area, and data were collected from various sources for the year 2003. The results showed that the mean local R2 of the models using North American Regional Reanalysis was 0.60 and those using North American Land Data Assimilation System reached 0.61. The root mean squared prediction error showed that the prediction accuracy was 82.7% and 83.0% for North American Regional Reanalysis and North American Land Data Assimilation System in model fitting, respectively, and 69.7% and 72.1% in cross validation. The results indicated that geographically weighted regression combined with aerosol optical depth, meteorological parameters, and land use information as the predictor variables could generate a better fit and achieve high accuracy in PM2.5 exposure estimation, and North American Land Data Assimilation System could be used as an alternative of North American Regional Reanalysis to provide some of the meteorological fields. © 2012 Elsevier Inc.

Published Nov 3, 2012

Hu, X., Waller, L. A., Al-Hamdan, M. Z., Crosson, W. L., Estes, M. G., Estes, S. M., Quattrochi, D. A., Sarnat, J. A., & Liu, Y. (2013). Estimating ground-level PM2.5 concentrations in the southeastern U.S. using geographically weighted regression. Environmental Research, 121, 1–10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2012.11.003

Background
Adverse birth outcomes such as low birth weight and premature birth have been previously linked with exposure to ambient air pollution. Most studies relied on a limited number of monitors in the region of interest, which can introduce exposure error or restrict the analysis to persons living near a monitor, which reduces sample size and generalizability and may create selection bias.

Methods
We evaluated the relationship between premature birth and birth weight with exposure to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) levels during pregnancy in Massachusetts for a 9-year period (2000–2008). Building on a novel method we developed for predicting daily PM2.5 at the spatial resolution of a 10x10km grid across New-England, we estimated the average exposure during 30 and 90 days prior to birth as well as the full pregnancy period for each mother. We used linear and logistic mixed models to estimate the association between PM2.5 exposure and birth weight (among full term births) and PM2.5 exposure and preterm birth adjusting for infant sex, maternal age, maternal race, mean income, maternal education level, prenatal care, gestational age, maternal smoking, percent of open space near mothers residence, average traffic density and mothers health.

Results
Birth weight was negatively associated with PM2.5 across all tested periods. For example, a 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 exposure during the entire pregnancy was significantly associated with a decrease of 13.80 g [95% confidence interval (CI) = −21.10, -6.05] in birth weight after controlling for other factors, including traffic exposure. The odds ratio for a premature birth was 1.06 (95% confidence interval (CI) = 1.01–1.13) for each 10 μg/m3 increase of PM2.5 exposure during the entire pregnancy period.

Conclusions
The presented study suggests that exposure to PM2.5 during the last month of pregnancy contributes to risks for lower birth weight and preterm birth in infants.

Published Jun 18, 2012

Kloog, I., Melly, S.J., Ridgway, W.L. et al. Using new satellite based exposure methods to study the association between pregnancy pm2.5 exposure, premature birth and birth weight in Massachusetts. Environ Health 11, 40 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1186/1476-069X-11-40

Take a look at a map of the 14-county metro Atlanta region.
Now place a pin on the map to represent the location of
every polluting factory, toxic release, sewage overflow,
and all other points where pollution may originate. When
you finish, you will see thousands of pins on the map. You
will also begin to see some clear patterns: pollution points
are generally found in higher numbers in populous areas,
close to railways, and in industrial centers. Now, overlay
demographic characteristics, including race and income,
onto the map and you will see which populations are living
closest to these pollution points. With some study, you
will see that populations of minorities and the poor are
living in closer proximity to pollution points than are other
populations. So too are those who are not fluent in English.

Published Mar 1, 2012

Thompson, D. D. J. (2012). A Report on Demographics and Pollution in Metro Atlanta. www.GreenLaw.org

This Article analyzes the environmental justice implications of the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill and proposes ways to better address these concerns currently and in the future. It explores the justice problems that have arisen with respect to the spill response, compensation, and employment and workers. The Article argues that these problems result from a mix of inadequate information, failure to incorporate environmental justice into planning, and statutory provisions that favor oil companies and limit protections for vulnerable populations. It proposes ways in which to address these causes in the context of this disaster and more broadly.

Published Jan 1, 2012

Hari M. Osofsky, Kate Baxter-Kauf, Bradley Hammer, Ann Mailander, Brett Mares, Amy Pikovsky, Andrew Whitney, and Laura Wilson, Environmental Justice and the BP Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill, 20 N.Y.U. ENVTL. L.J. 99 (2012), available at https://scholarship.law.umn.edu/faculty_articles/415.

The current study adds to the literature linking environmental pollution and disparities in educational outcomes among vulnerable populations by measuring variations in school performance scores in East Baton Rouge (EBR) Parish, Louisiana. The authors ask whether the unique, place-specific, results of a study such as the 2004 study by Pastor, Sadd, and Morello-Frosch, specifically the finding that schools' academic performance scores are negatively related to proximity to major polluters, can be made somewhat more "general" by examining a similar relationship in another location. The authors closely approximate the model and methodology used by Pastoret al.and then respecify that model by including new independent variables with a particular focus on alternative and more nuanced measures of proximity to polluters as indicators of potential human exposure. Furthermore, they analyze the relationship between proximity and achievement in terms of disproportionate effects on human capital experienced by vulnerable populations. The findings provide evidence of "environmental ascription," the idea that "place" (especially, attending school in polluted places) has ascriptive properties. The authors find that, all else equal, their several measures of proximity (to Toxics Release Inventory facilities in general, to high concentrations of toxic emissions, and to high-volume polluters of developmental neurotoxins) are significantly related to school performance scores throughout EBR Parish. © SAGE Publications 2011.

Published Dec 20, 2011

Lucier, C., Rosofsky, A., London, B., Scharber, H., & Shandra, J. M. (2011). Toxic Pollution and School Performance Scores. Organization & Environment, 24(4), 423–443. https://doi.org/10.1177/1086026611430853

In 2009, Cobb County School District (CCSD) and Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech) received a competitive federal grant to implement an idle and tailpipe emission reduction program in the CCSD bus fleet. The project is designed to reduce school bus idling by installing GPS and idle detection systems in the bus, providing bus dispatchers with a web system to track vehicle activity and idling in real-time, and to automatically shut off the engine when idle thresholds at specific locations are exceeded. A team of Georgia Tech researchers is implementing the anti-idle program and estimating the emissions and fuel savings from the project using approved modeling methods. This thesis presents the results of the emission modeling process, as well as an analysis of baseline school bus idling activity. EPA's MOVES mobile source emission model was used to develop emission rates for school buses for each operating mode, which are defined by the instantaneous vehicle speed, acceleration and scaled tractive power. Local data for Cobb County and Atlanta were collected and input into the MOVES model. The pollutants modeled include carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter (coarse and fine), oxides of nitrogen, and gaseous hydrocarbons. The vehicle activity data collected through the GPS and communications equipment installed in the buses were classified into the operating mode bins for each second of recorded data, and multiplied by the corresponding emission rate to determine the total modal emissions before and after project implementation. Preliminary results suggest that thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and thousands of dollars can be saved with the project, improving overall fleet fuel efficiency by 2%, as well as reducing emissions in some categories by as much as 38%.

Published Aug 31, 2011

Rome, C. (2011). An analysis of school bus idling and emissions. https://smartech.gatech.edu/handle/1853/45794

Exposing children to environmental pollutants during important times of physiological development can lead to long-lasting health problems, dysfunction, and disease. The location of children's schools can increase their exposure. We examined the extent of air pollution from industrial sources around public schools in Michigan to find out whether air pollution jeopardizes children's health and academic success. We found that schools located in areas with the highest air pollution levels had the lowest attendance rates-a potential indicator of poor health-and the highest proportions of students who failed to meet state educational testing standards. Michigan and many other states currently do not require officials considering a site for a new school to analyze its environmental quality. Our results show that such requirements are needed. For schools already in existence, we recommend that their environmental quality should be investigated and improved if necessary. © 2011 Project HOPE-The People-to-People Health Foundation, Inc.

Published May 1, 2011

Mohai, P., Kweon, B. S., Lee, S., & Ard, K. (2011). Air pollution around schools is linked to poorer student health and academic performance. Health Affairs, 30(5), 852–862. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2011.0077

Rationale: Certain outdoor air pollutants cause asthma exacerbations in children. To advance understanding of these relationships, further characterization of the dose-response and pollutant lag effects are needed, as are investigations of pollutant species beyond the commonly measured criteria pollutants. Objectives: Investigate short-term associations between ambient air pollutant concentrations and emergency department visits for pediatric asthma. Methods: Daily counts of emergency department visits for asthma or wheeze among children aged 5 to 17 years were collected from 41 Metropolitan Atlanta hospitals during 1993-2004 (n=91,386 visits). Ambient concentrations of gaseous pollutants and speciated particulate matter were available from stationary monitors during this time period. Rate ratios for the warm season (May to October) and cold season (November to April) were estimated using Poisson generalized linear models in the framework of a case-crossover analysis. Measurements and Main Results: Both ozone and primary pollutants from traffic sources were associated with emergency department visits for asthma or wheeze; evidence for independent effects of ozone and primary pollutants from traffic sources were observed in multipollutant models. These associations tended to be of the highest magnitude for concentrations on the day of the emergency department visit and were present at relatively low ambient concentrations. Conclusions: Even at relatively low ambient concentrations, ozone and primary pollutants from traffic sources independently contributed to the burden of emergency department visits for pediatric asthma.

Published Mar 31, 2010

Strickland, M. J., Darrow, L. A., Klein, M., Flanders, W. D., Sarnat, J. A., Waller, L. A., Sarnat, S. E., Mulholland, J. A., & Tolbert, P. E. (2010). Short-term Associations between Ambient Air Pollutants and Pediatric Asthma Emergency Department Visits. American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 182(3), 307–316. https://doi.org/10.1164/rccm.200908-1201OC