Socioeconomic disparities in incidents at toxic sites during Hurricane Harvey

Climate Justice Implications of Natech Disasters: Excess Contaminant Releases during Hurricanes on the Texas Gulf Coast

Extreme weather events are becoming more severe due to climate change, increasing the risk of contaminant releases from hazardous sites disproportionately located in low-income communities of color. We evaluated contaminant releases during Hurricanes Rita, Ike, and Harvey in Texas and used regression models to estimate associations between neighborhood racial/ethnic composition and residential proximity to hurricane-related contaminant releases. Two-to-three times as many excess releases were reported during hurricanes compared to business-as-usual periods. Petrochemical manufacturing and refineries were responsible for most air emissions events. Multivariable models revealed sociodemographic disparities in likelihood of releases; compared to neighborhoods near regulated facilities without a release, a one-percent increase in Hispanic residents was associated with a 5 and 10% increase in the likelihood of an air emissions event downwind and within 2 km during Hurricanes Rita and Ike (odds ratio and 95% credible interval= 1.05 [1.00, 1.13], combined model) and Harvey (1.10 [1.00, 1.23]), respectively. Higher percentages of renters (1.07 [1.03, 1.11], combined Rita and Ike model) and rates of poverty (1.06 [1.01, 1.12], Harvey model) were associated with a higher likelihood of a release to land or water, while the percentage of Black residents (0.94 [0.89, 1.00], Harvey model) was associated with a slightly lower likelihood. Population density was consistently associated with a decreased likelihood of a contaminant release to air, land, or water. Our findings highlight social inequalities in the risks posed by natural-technological disasters that disproportionately impact Hispanic, renter, low-income, and rural populations.

Effects of extreme weather on health in underserved communities

Increased fossil fuel use has increased carbon dioxide concentrations leading to global warming and climate change with increased frequency and intensity of extreme weather events such as thunderstorms, wildfires, droughts, and heat waves. These changes increase the risk of adverse health effects for all human beings. However, these experiences do not affect everyone equally. Underserved communities, including people of color, the elderly, people living with chronic conditions, and socioeconomically disadvantaged groups, have greater vulnerability to the impacts of climate change. These vulnerabilities are a result of multiple factors such as disparities in health care, lower educational status, and systemic racism. These social inequities are exacerbated by extreme weather events, which act as threat multipliers increasing disparities in health outcomes. It is clear that without human action, these global temperatures will continue to increase to unbearable levels creating an existential crisis. There is now global consensus that climate change is caused by anthropogenic activity and that actions to mitigate and adapt to climate change are urgently needed. The 2015 Paris Accord was the first truly global commitment that set goals to limit further warming. It also aimed to implement equity in action, founded on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Meeting these goals requires individual, community, organizational, national, and global cooperation. Health care professionals, often in the frontline with firsthand knowledge of the health impacts of climate change, can play a key role in advocating for just and equitable climate change adaptation and mitigation policies.

Cognitive Interview Validation of a Novel Household Hazard Vulnerability Assessment Instrument

BACKGROUND

Weather and climate disasters are responsible for over 13 000 US deaths, worsened morbidity, and $1.7 trillion in additional costs over the last 40 years with profound racial disparities.

OBJECTIVES

This project empirically generated items for a novel survey instrument of household hazard vulnerability with initial construct validation while addressing racial bias in the data collection process.

METHODS

Cognitive interviews facilitated understanding regarding the performance of drafted survey questions with transdisciplinary expert panelists from diverse US regions on unique hazard/disaster/event items. To prevent representation bias in data collection, those with Black and/or African American racial, biracial, or multiracial identities were over-sampled. Interview video recordings were qualitatively analyzed using thematic and pattern coding.

RESULTS

A cognitive process mapped to themes of disaster characteristics, resources, individual life facets, and felt effects was revealed. We identified 379 unique instances of linked terms as synonyms, co-occurring, compounding, or cascading events. Potential for racial bias in data collection was elucidated. Analysis of radiation exposure, trauma, and criminal acts of intent items revealed participants may not interpret survey items with these terms as intended.

CONCLUSION

Potential for racial bias exists relative to water dam failure, evacuation, external flood, suspicious packages/substances, and transportation failure. Hazard terms that were not interpreted as intended require further revision in the validation process of individual or household disaster vulnerability assessments. Several commonalities in the cognitive process and mapping of disaster terms may be utilized in disaster and climate change research aimed at the individual and household unit of analysis.

Methods in Public Health Environmental Justice Research: a Scoping Review from 2018 to 2021

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

The volume of public health environmental justice (EJ) research produced by academic institutions increased through 2022. However, the methods used for evaluating EJ in exposure science and epidemiologic studies have not been catalogued. Here, we completed a scoping review of EJ studies published in 19 environmental science and epidemiologic journals from 2018 to 2021 to summarize research types, frameworks, and methods.

RECENT FINDINGS

We identified 402 articles that included populations with health disparities as a part of EJ research question and met other inclusion criteria. Most studies (60%) evaluated EJ questions related to socioeconomic status (SES) or race/ethnicity. EJ studies took place in 69 countries, led by the US (n = 246 [61%]). Only 50% of studies explicitly described a theoretical EJ framework in the background, methods, or discussion and just 10% explicitly stated a framework in all three sections. Among exposure studies, the most common area-level exposure was air pollution (40%), whereas chemicals predominated personal exposure studies (35%). Overall, the most common method used for exposure-only EJ analyses was main effect regression modeling (50%); for epidemiologic studies the most common method was effect modification (58%), where an analysis evaluated a health disparity variable as an effect modifier. Based on the results of this scoping review, current methods in public health EJ studies could be bolstered by integrating expertise from other fields (e.g., sociology), conducting community-based participatory research and intervention studies, and using more rigorous, theory-based, and solution-oriented statistical research methods.

Toxic Tides and Environmental Injustice: Social Vulnerability to Sea Level Rise and Flooding of Hazardous Sites in Coastal California

Sea level rise (SLR) and heavy precipitation events are increasing the frequency and extent of coastal flooding, which can trigger releases of toxic chemicals from hazardous sites, many of which are in low-income communities of color. We used regression models to estimate the association between facility flood risk and social vulnerability indicators in low-lying block groups in California. We applied dasymetric mapping techniques to refine facility boundaries and population estimates and probabilistic SLR projections to estimate facilities' future flood risk. We estimate that 423 facilities are at risk of flooding in 2100 under a high emissions scenario (RCP 8.5). One unit standard deviation increases in nonvoters, poverty rate, renters, residents of color, and linguistically isolated households were associated with a 1.5-2.2 times higher odds of the presence of an at-risk site within 1 km (ORs [95% CIs]: 2.2 [1.8, 2.8], 1.9 [1.5, 2.3], 1.7 [1.4, 1.9], 1.5 [1.2, 1.9], and 1.5 [1.2, 1.9], respectively). Among block groups near at least one at-risk site, the number of sites increased with poverty, proportion of renters and residents of color, and lower voter turnout. These results underscore the need for further research and disaster planning that addresses the differential hazards and health risks of SLR.

Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Houston Parks After Hurricane Harvey

Unprecedented inland precipitation and catastrophic flooding associated with Hurricane Harvey potentially redistributed contaminants from industrial sites and transportation infrastructure to recreational areas that make up networks of green infrastructure, creeks, and waterways used for flood control throughout the Greater Houston Area. Sediment samples were collected in parks located near the Buffalo Bayou watershed 1 week after Hurricane Harvey made landfall and again 7 weeks later. Total concentrations of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA's) 16 priority polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were measured in each sample at both time points. Diagnostic ratios were calculated to improve understanding of potential sources of PAHs after flooding. Diagnostic ratios suggest vehicular traffic to be a potential source for PAHs in parks. Although the concentrations of PAHs in all samples were below EPA actionable levels, given that no background values were available for comparison, it is difficult to quantify the impact flooding from Hurricane Harvey had on PAH concentrations in Houston parks. However, given the high frequency of flooding in Houston, and the concentration of industrial facilities and transportation infrastructure adjacent to recreation areas, these data demonstrate that PAHs were still present after unprecedented flooding. This study may also serve as a baseline for future efforts to understand the environmental health impacts of disasters.