Research Hub

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

Air pollution has been associated with a number of detrimental health effects for children. Another potentially substantive, but previously unappreciated, effect of air pollution on children is diminished academic performance, presumably resulting in reduced human capital accumulation and reduced future earnings. In this paper we investigate the relationship between outdoor air pollution levels and standardized state test scores of California public school children. To do this we combine individual family data and community pollution data from the Children's Health Study (CHS), a longitudinal respiratory health study of Southern California school children, with publicly available information on California standardized test scores by grade, school, and year. We find that a 10% decrease in outdoor PM 10 , PM 2.5 , or NO 2 would raise math test scores by 0.15%, 0.34%, or 0.18%, while a 10% decrease in outdoor PM 2.5 increases reading scores by 0.21%. To put these effects in perspective, if it were possible to reduce PM 2.5 by 10% for low-income students but not for high-income students, the gap in math test scores between high-and low-income 8 th grade students would fall by nearly one thirtieth. 2

Published Dec 1, 2009

Zweig, J. S., Ham, J. C., & Avol, E. L. (2009). Air Pollution and Academic Performance: Evidence from California Schools. https://radic8.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/test-scores-submit-1.pdf

OBJECTIVE: This study evaluated the relationship between prenatal exposure to airborne polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) and child intelligence.

METHODS: Children of nonsmoking black or Dominican-American women residing in New York City were monitored from in utero to 5 years of age, with determination of prenatal PAH exposure through personal air monitoring for the mothers during pregnancy. At 5 years of age, intelligence was assessed for 249 children by using the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence-Revised. Multivariate linear regression models were used to estimate and to test the associations between prenatal PAH exposure and IQ.

RESULTS: After adjustment for maternal intelligence, quality of the home caretaking environment, environmental tobacco smoke exposure, and other potentially confounding factors, high PAH levels (above the median of 2.26 ng/m3) were inversely associated with full-scale IQ (P = .007) and verbal IQ (P = .003) scores. Children in the high-exposure group had full-scale and verbal IQ scores that were 4.31 and 4.67 points lower, respectively, than those of less-exposed children (≤2.26 ng/m3). The associations between logarithmically transformed, continuous, PAH levels and these IQ measures also were significant (full-scale IQ: β = −3.00; P = .009; verbal IQ: β = −3.53; P = .002).

CONCLUSION: These results provide evidence that environmental PAHs at levels encountered in New York City air can affect children's IQ adversely.

Published Aug 1, 2009

Perera, F. P., Li, Z., Whyatt, R., Hoepner, L., Wang, S., Camann, D., & Rauh, V. (2009). Prenatal airborne polycyclic AROMATIC hydrocarbon exposure and Child IQ at age 5 years. PEDIATRICS, 124(2). doi:10.1542/peds.2008-3506

An investigation of the potential environmental and health impacts in the immediate aftermath of one of the largest coal ash spills in U.S. history at the Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Kingston coal-burning power plant has revealed three major findings. First, the surface release of coal ash with high levels of toxic elements (As = 75 mg/kg; Hg = 150 μg/kg) and radioactivity (226Ra + 228Ra = 8 pCi/g) to the environment has the potential to generate resuspended ambient fine particles (<10 μm) containing these toxics into the atmosphere that may pose a health risk to local communities. Second, leaching of contaminants from the coal ash caused contamination of surface waters in areas of restricted water exchange, but only trace levels were found in the downstream Emory and Clinch Rivers due to river dilution. Third, the accumulation of Hg- and As-rich coal ash in river sediments has the potential to have an impact on the ecological system in the downstream rivers by fish poisoning and methylmercury formation in anaerobic river sediments.

Published May 4, 2009

Ruhl, L., Vengosh, A., Dwyer, G. S., Hsu-Kim, H., Deonarine, A., Bergin, M., & Kravchenko, J. (2009). Survey of the Potential Environmental and Health Impacts in the Immediate Aftermath of the Coal Ash Spill in Kingston, Tennessee. Environmental Science & Technology, 43(16), 6326–6333. https://doi.org/10.1021/es900714p

Outdoor air pollution at levels occurring in many urban areas around the world has substantial adverse effects on health. Children in general, and children with asthma in particular, are sensitive to the adverse effects of outdoor air pollutants, including ozone, nitrogen oxides, and respirable particulate matter. A growing number of studies also show that children living in environments near traffic have increased risks of new-onset asthma, asthma symptoms, exacerbations, school absences, and asthma-related hospitalizations. The large population of children exposed to high levels of outdoor air pollutants and the substantial risks for adverse health effects present unexploited opportunities to reduce the burden of asthma. Because the evidence indicates significant adverse effects of air pollution at current levels, there is clearly a need to reduce levels of regulated pollutants such as ozone, as well as unregulated pollutants in tailpipe emissions from motor vehicles. Achieving this long-term goal requires the active involvement of physicians and medical providers to ensure that the health of children is at the top of the list of competing priorities for regulatory policy decision-making. Clinical approaches include treatment to control asthma and patient education to reduce adverse effects of the disease. Reduction in exposures also can be approached at a policy level through changes in schools and school bus operations. Beyond clinical and public health approaches to reduce exposure, another strategy to be used before clean air goals are met is to decrease the susceptibility of children to air pollution. Emerging research indicates that dietary supplementation for individuals with low antioxidant levels is one promising ap- proach to reducing susceptibility to air pollution. A second approach involves induction of enzymatic antioxidant defenses, especially for individuals with at-risk genetic variants of key antioxidant enzymes. Copyright © 2009 by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Published Mar 1, 2009

Gilliland, F. D. (2009). Outdoor air pollution, genetic susceptibility, and asthma management: Opportunities for intervention to reduce the burden of asthma. Pediatrics, 123(SUPPL. 3), 14–16. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2008-2233G