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The Role of Cumulative Risk Assessment in Decisions about Environmental Justice

Author

Listed:
  • Ken Sexton

    (Department of Epidemiology, Human Genetics, and Environmental Sciences, University of Texas School of Public Health, Brownsville Regional Campus, 80 Fort Brown, Brownsville, TX 78520, USA)

  • Stephen H. Linder

    (Institute for Health Policy, University of Texas School of Public Health, 1200 Herman zressler, Houston, TX 77030, USA)

Abstract

There is strong presumptive evidence that people living in poverty and certain racial and ethnic groups bear a disproportionate burden of environmental health risk. Many have argued that conducting formal assessments of the health risk experienced by affected communities is both unnecessary and counterproductive—that instead of analyzing the situation our efforts should be devoted to fixing obvious problems and rectifying observable wrongs. We contend that formal assessment of cumulative health risks from combined effects of chemical and nonchemical stressors is a valuable tool to aid decision makers in choosing risk management options that are effective, efficient, and equitable. If used properly, cumulative risk assessment need not impair decision makers’ discretion, nor should it be used as an excuse for doing nothing in the face of evident harm. Good policy decisions require more than good intentions; they necessitate analysis of risk-related information along with careful consideration of economic issues, ethical and moral principles, legal precedents, political realities, cultural beliefs, societal values, and bureaucratic impediments. Cumulative risk assessment can provide a systematic and impartial means for informing policy decisions about environmental justice.

Suggested Citation

  • Ken Sexton & Stephen H. Linder, 2010. "The Role of Cumulative Risk Assessment in Decisions about Environmental Justice," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 7(11), pages 1-13, November.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:7:y:2010:i:11:p:4037-4049:d:10278
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Ken Sexton & Jennifer J. Salinas & Thomas J. McDonald & Rose M. Z. Gowen & Rebecca P. Miller & Joseph B. McCormick & Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, 2011. "Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons in Maternal and Umbilical Cord Blood from Pregnant Hispanic Women Living in Brownsville, Texas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 8(8), pages 1-15, August.
    2. Douglas Crawford-Brown, 2015. "Application of Probabilistic Risk Assessment in Establishing Perchlorate and Goitrogen Risk Mitigation Strategies," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(9), pages 1-17, August.
    3. Leah Zilversmit Pao & Emily W. Harville & Jeffrey K. Wickliffe & Arti Shankar & Pierre Buekens, 2019. "The Cumulative Risk of Chemical and Nonchemical Exposures on Birth Outcomes in Healthy Women: The Fetal Growth Study," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(19), pages 1-16, October.
    4. Sarah Alves & Joan Tilghman & Arlene Rosenbaum & Devon C. Payne-Sturges, 2012. "U.S. EPA Authority to Use Cumulative Risk Assessments in Environmental Decision-Making," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(6), pages 1-23, May.
    5. Timothy M. Barzyk & Sacoby Wilson & Anthony Wilson, 2015. "Community, State, and Federal Approaches to Cumulative Risk Assessment: Challenges and Opportunities for Integration," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 12(5), pages 1-26, April.
    6. Jennifer J. Salinas & Manasi Shah & Bassent Abdelbary & Jennifer L. Gay & Ken Sexton, 2012. "Application of a Novel Method for Assessing Cumulative Risk Burden by County," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 9(5), pages 1-16, May.
    7. Miguel Ángel López-Navarro & Jaume Llorens-Monzonís & Vicente Tortosa-Edo, 2013. "The Effect of Social Trust on Citizens’ Health Risk Perception in the Context of a Petrochemical Industrial Complex," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-18, January.
    8. Ken Sexton & Jennifer J. Salinas & Thomas J. McDonald & Rose M. Z. Gowen & Rebecca P. Miller & Joseph B. McCormick & Susan P. Fisher-Hoch, 2013. "Biomarkers of Maternal and Fetal Exposure to Organochlorine Pesticides Measured in Pregnant Hispanic Women from Brownsville, Texas," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 10(1), pages 1-12, January.
    9. Kristen Burwell-Naney & Sacoby M. Wilson & Siobhan T. Whitlock & Robin Puett, 2019. "Hybrid Resiliency-Stressor Conceptual Framework for Informing Decision Support Tools and Addressing Environmental Injustice and Health Inequities," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-19, April.

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