Wakefield, Sarah E.L., and Jamie Baxter. 2010. “Linking Health Inequality and Environmental Justice: Articulating a Precautionary Framework for Research and Action.”
Wakefield, Sarah E.L., and Jamie Baxter. 2010.
"3 The Root Causes of Health Inequity." National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine. 2017. Communities in Action: Pathways to Health Equity.
Committee on Community-Based Solutions to Promote Health Equity in the United States, Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice, Health and Medicine Division, and National Academies of Sci
Environmental Injustice Reading
Collections of readings that examine and conceptualize environmental injustice.
EIJ CONCEPT: Addressing Social Determinants of Health and Health Inequity
A closer look into how to address social determinants of health and analyze community level impacts
Collaborative Health: Health in All Policies by ChangeLab Solutions
"Health is one of our most precious resources. People everywhere want their families and communities to be healthy and to thrive. But what does it really take to make that vision a reality?
Masri et al. 2021. “Risk Assessment of Soil Heavy Metal Contamination at the Census Tract Level in the City of Santa Ana, CA: Implications for Health and Environmental Justice.”
Masri, Shahir, Alana M. W. LeBrón, Michael D. Logue, Enrique Valencia, Abel Ruiz, Abigail Reyes, and Jun Wu. 2021.
Empirical data
Taina Miranda AraujoIn response to
Studie provides visual representations of lead concentration in Santa Ana cross matching it with vulnerability risk.
What quotes from this text are exemplary or particularly evocative?
Taina Miranda Araujo“Also of note when interpreting our results is that this study did not take into consideration the ingestion of heavy metals through the dietary route. Had we considered this additional exposure pathway, our calculated chronic daily intake levels of heavy metals would have been greater, resulting in higher estimated risk (particularly for metals such as Pb, As, and Cd which have been widely documented in various foods)” (Marsi et al. 2021)
“Both cancer and non-cancer risk at the Census tract level exhibited positive correlations with indicators of social as well as physiological vulnerability” (Marsi et al. 2021)
What is the main argument?
Taina Miranda AraujoIn response to
Exposure to heavy metals has been associated with adverse health effects and disproportionately impacts communities of a lower socio-economic status.
Risk Assessment of Soil Heavy Metal Contamination Santa Ana CA (What does this text focus on?)
Taina Miranda AraujoIn response to
This study used a community-based participatory research approach to collect and analyze a large number of randomly sampled soil measurements to yield a high spatially resolved understanding of the distribution of heavy metals in the Santa Ana soil, in an effort to exposure misclassification. This study looks into average metal concentrations at the Census tract level and by land use type, which helps map potential sources of heavy metals in the soil and better understand the association between socioeconomic status and soil contamination (Marsi et al. 2021).
In 2018, soil samples of eight heavy metals including lead (Pb), arsenic (As), manganese (Mn), chromium (Cr), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), cadmium (Cd), and zinc (Zn) were collected across Santa Ana. These were analyzed at a high resolution using XRF analysis. Then, metal concentrations were mapped out and American Community Survey data was used to assess the metals throughout Census tracts in terms of social and economic variables. Risk assessment was conducted to evaluate carcinogenic risk. The results of the concentrations of soil metals were categorized according to land-use type and socioeconomic factors. “Census tracts where the median household income was under $50 000 had 90%, 92.9%, 56.6%, and 54.3% higher Pb, Zn, Cd, and As concentrations compared to high-income counterparts” (Marsi et al. 2021). All Census tracts in Santa were above hazard inder >1, which implies non-carcinogenic effects, and almost all Census tracts showed a cancer risk above 104, which implies greater than acceptable risk. Risk was found to be driven by childhood exposure.
It was concluded that the issue of elevated soil contamination relates back to environmental justice due to overlap between contaminated areas and neighborhoods of lower socioeconomic status. Marsi et al. (2021) found there needs to be more community-driven recommendations for policies and other actions to address disproportionate solid contamination and prevent adverse health outcomes.