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Whose Risk in Philadelphia? Proximity to Unequally Hazardous Industrial Facilities

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  • Diane Sicotte
  • Samantha Swanson

Abstract

Objective. Few researchers have investigated who lives near the worst polluting facilities. In this study, we test for disparate impact from hazardous industrial and infrastructure facilities on racial/ethnic minorities, the disadvantaged, the working class, and manufacturing workers in the nine‐county Philadelphia MSA. Methods. Hazard Scores for Philadelphia‐area facilities in EPA's Risk‐Screening Environmental Indicators (RSEI) database were calculated and facilities mapped onto Census block group maps. One‐kilometer buffer zones around facilities were created and intersected with Census data on population inside and outside buffers. After correcting for spatial autocorrelation, we tested for relationships between Hazard Scores and characteristics of people near facilities using multivariate regression. Results. Hazard Scores rose along with percents black, Hispanic, disadvantaged, and employed in manufacturing in some (but not all) counties. Conclusions. Among those living near polluting facilities, minorities, the poor, and manufacturing workers lived near the most hazardous, constituting a disparate impact on these groups.

Suggested Citation

  • Diane Sicotte & Samantha Swanson, 2007. "Whose Risk in Philadelphia? Proximity to Unequally Hazardous Industrial Facilities," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 88(2), pages 515-534, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:socsci:v:88:y:2007:i:2:p:515-534
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1540-6237.2007.00469.x
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    Cited by:

    1. Ramya Chari & Thomas A. Burke & Ronald H. White & Mary A. Fox, 2012. "Integrating Susceptibility into Environmental Policy: An Analysis of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Lead," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(4), pages 1-20, March.
    2. Alvarez, Camila H. & Evans, Clare Rosenfeld, 2021. "Intersectional environmental justice and population health inequalities: A novel approach," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 269(C).
    3. Bouvier, Rachel, 2014. "Distribution of income and toxic emissions in Maine, United States: Inequality in two dimensions," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 39-47.
    4. Margaret Carrel & Sean G. Young & Eric Tate, 2016. "Pigs in Space: Determining the Environmental Justice Landscape of Swine Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) in Iowa," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 13(9), pages 1-19, August.
    5. Daleniece Higgins Jones & Xinhua Yu & Qian Guo & Xiaoli Duan & Chunrong Jia, 2022. "Racial Disparities in the Heavy Metal Contamination of Urban Soil in the Southeastern United States," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(3), pages 1-12, January.
    6. Swope, Carolyn B. & Hernández, Diana, 2019. "Housing as a determinant of health equity: A conceptual model," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 243(C).
    7. Diane Sicotte, 2014. "Diversity and Intersectionality among Environmentally Burdened Communities in the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area, USA," Urban Studies, Urban Studies Journal Limited, vol. 51(9), pages 1850-1870, July.
    8. David M. Konisky & Tyler S. Schario, 2010. "Examining Environmental Justice in Facility‐Level Regulatory Enforcement," Social Science Quarterly, Southwestern Social Science Association, vol. 91(3), pages 835-855, September.
    9. Zwickl, Klara & Ash, Michael & Boyce, James K., 2014. "Regional variation in environmental inequality: Industrial air toxics exposure in U.S. cities," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 107(C), pages 494-509.
    10. Dolores J. Severtson & James E. Burt, 2012. "The Influence of Mapped Hazards on Risk Beliefs: A Proximity‐Based Modeling Approach," Risk Analysis, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 32(2), pages 259-280, February.

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