Open AccessToxic Waste and Race in Twenty-First Century America
Author(s) -
Michael Mascarenhas,
Ryken Grattet,
Kathleen Mege
Publication year - 2021
Publication title -
environment and society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.083
H-Index - 10
eISSN - 2150-6787
pISSN - 2150-6779
DOI - 10.3167/ares.2021.120107
Subject(s) - race (biology) , environmental justice , hazardous waste , commission , racism , census , economic justice , toxic waste , political science , demography , sociology , law , population , engineering , waste management , gender studies
In 1987, the United Church of Christ Commission for Racial Justice released its groundbreaking study, Toxic Waste and Race in the United States . The report found race to be the most significant predictor of where hazardous waste facilities were located in the United States. We review this and other studies of environmental racism in an effort to explain the relationship between race and the proximity to hazardous waste facilities. More recent research provides some evidence that the effect is causal, where polluting industries follow the path of least resistance. To date, the published work using Census data ends in 2000, which neglects the period when economic and political changes may have worsened the relationship between race and toxic exposure. Thus, we replicate findings using data from 2010 to show that racial disparities remain persistent in 2010. We conclude with a call for further research on how race and siting have changed during the 2010s.