disproportionate distribution to occur affects the distribution of
by chance, and that underlying factors environmental hazards? And are not
related to race, therefore, in all

minorities disproportionately impacted
likelihood play a role in the location of simply because they are
commercial hazardous waste facilities. disproportionately poor (although one
At the time the report was released, has to ask why minorities are
Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis, Jr., Executive disproportionately poor in the first
Director of the United Church of

place)? Christ's Commission for Racial Justice, Classic economic theory would termed the racial biases in the location predict that poverty plays a role. of these facilities "environmental

Because of limited income and wealth, racism.” Because of its national scope poor people do not have the means to Housing and its strong findings, the

buy their way out of polluted project is

Commission's report became a major neighborhoods. Also, land values tend cheek by jowl turning point in raising public

to be lower in poor neighborhoods, with oil

awareness about the disproportionate and the neighborhoods attract refinery.

burden of environmental hazards on polluting industries seeking to reduce minorities.

the costs of doing business. However, The striking findings of the United the mobility of minorities is Church of Christ study led us to

additionally restricted by housing investigate whether other studies

discrimination, amply demonstrated by existed and to determine whether the researchers to be no insignificant evidence from these studies, taken factor. Then, because noxious sites are together, demonstrated a consistent unwanted (the "NIMBY," or pattern of environmental inequity not-in-my-backyard syndrome) and based on socioeconomic and racial because industries tend to take the factors. We also conducted a study of path of least resistance, communities our own to examine the distribution of with little political clout are often commercial hazardous waste facilities targeted for such facilities: The in the Detroit metropolitan area.

residents tend to be unaware of policy Further, to uncover more information decisions affecting them; they are not

and focus greater attention on this organized; and they lack the resources Copyright Sam Kittner.

issue, in January 1990 we convened (time, money, contacts, knowledge of
the Michigan Conference on Race and the political system) for taking
the Incidence of Environmental

political action. Minority communities a participant in the Warren County Hazards at the University of

are at a disadvantage not only in terms protests, to sponsor a nationwide study Michigan's School of Natural

of resources, but also because of in 1987. The study used systematic Resources. (See accompanying article.) underrepresentation on governing and statistically analyzable data to

A question often raised is whether bodies. When location decisions are determine whether the distribution of the bias in the distribution of

made, this underrepresentation commercial hazardous waste facilities environmental hazards is simply a

translates into limited access to policy in minority communities fit the pattern function of poverty. That is, rather makers and lack of advocates for found in the South. It found that it

than race per se, is it not poverty that minority interests. did. Specifically, it found that the

Taken together, these factors suggest proportion of minorities in

that race has an impact on the communities which have a commercial

(Dr. Mohai is Assistant Professor and Dr. distribution of environmental hazards hazardous waste facility is about

Bryant is Associate Professor in the that is independent of income. Thus, double that in communities without School of Natural Resources at the

as part of our investigation, we such facilities. Where two or more University of Michigan in Ann Arbor. attempted to assess the relative such facilities are located, the

Drs. Mohai and Bryant were Co-Principal influence of income and race on the proportion of minorities is more than Investigators of the University of

distribution of pollution. We did so by triple.

Michigan's 1990 Detroit Area Study. examining the results of those In addition, using sophisticated They were also co-organizers of the empirical studies which analyzed the statistical techniques, this study found University of Michigan Conference on

distribution of environmental hazards that race is the single best predictor of Race and the Incidence of

by both income and race. We also where commercial hazardous waste Environmental Hazards held January

assessed the relative importance of the facilities are located-even when other 1990 in Ann Arbor, Michigan. Both

relationship of income and race in the socioeconomic characteristics, such as served on the National Advisory

distribution of commercial hazardous average household income and average Committee of the First National People

waste facilities in our Detroit area value of homes, are taken into account. of Color Environmental Leadership

study. The report concluded that it is Summit held October 1991 in

From our investigation, we found 15 "virtually impossible" for this Washington, DC.)

studies that, like the United Church of

The Issue

Christ study, provide objective and systematic information about the social distribution of environmental hazards. A number of interesting and important facts emerged.

First, an inspection of the publication dates revealed that information about environmental inequities has been available for some time. Rather than being a recent discovery, documentation of environmental injustices stretched back two decades. In fact, information about inequities in the distribution of environmental hazards was first published in 1971 in the annual report of the Council on Environmental Quality. This was only one year after EPA was created, one year after the National Environmental Policy Act was passed, and only one year after the first Earth Day—an event viewed by many as a major turning point in public awareness about environmental issues. There were nine other such

Abandoned industry site abuts on

residential neighborhood in southeast studies published in the 1970s.

Chicago. Clearly, it has taken some time for public awareness to catch up to the issues of environmental injustice.

It is worth noting that most of the studies conducted in the past two income. Also noteworthy is the fact decades focused on the distribution of that all three national studies which air pollution and hazardous waste. looked at both income and race found Clearly, systematic studies of the social

race to be more importantly related to distribution of other types of

the distribution of environmental environmental hazards, such as water hazards than income. pollution, pesticide exposure, asbestos In our own Detroit area study, we exposure, and other hazards are

found that minority residents in the needed. Also worth noting is that these metropolitan area are four times more studies vary considerably in terms of likely than white residents to live scope. Some focused on single urban within one mile of a commercial areas, such as Washington, DC, New hazardous waste facility. We also York City, or Houston; others focused found that race was a better predictor on a collection of urban areas; while of residents' proximity to such still others were national in scope. facilities than income. This is important in that it reveals that Taken together, the findings from the pattern of findings is not an artifact these studies indicate clear and of the samples selected: Regardless of unequivocal class and racial biases in the scope or of the methodologies the distribution of environmental employed, the findings point to a hazards. Further, they appear to consistent pattern.

support the argument that race has an In nearly every case, the distribution additional effect on the distribution of of pollution has been found to be

environmental hazards that is inequitable by income. And, with only independent of class. Indeed, the racial one exception, it has been found to be biases found in these studies have inequitable by race. Where the

tended to be greater than class biases. distribution of pollution has been

Ultimately, knowing whether race or analyzed by both income and race, and class has a more important effect on where it is possible to weigh the

the distribution of environmental relative importance of each, in five out hazards may be less relevant than of eight cases race has been found to understanding how the conditions that be more strongly related than has lead to it can be addressed and

remedied. Currently, there are no
public policies in place which require
monitoring equity in the distribution
of environmental quality. Hence,
policy makers have little knowledge
about the equity consequences of
programs designed to control pollution
in this country.

Are some groups receiving fewer
environmental and health benefits than
others from existing programs? Have
the risks to some actually increased? If
the social, economic, and political
disadvantages faced by the poor and
minorities are unlikely to be
compensated any time soon, then
proactive government policies will be
needed to address the issue of
environmental inequity. The
distribution of environmental hazards
will need to be monitored, existing
policies and programs adjusted, and
new programs designed to ensure that
all groups share equitably in the efforts
to control pollution.

A quarter of a century ago, the Kerner Commission warned, “To continue present policies is to make permanent the division of our country into two societies: one largely Negro and poor, located in the central cities, the other predominantly white and affluent, located in the suburbs and in outlying areas." When that warning was made, EPA had not yet been created and the nation's major environmental laws had not yet been passed. The terms "environmental racism" and "environmental justice” were unheard of. Our study and those of others indicate that current environmental policies have contributed to the division. To know that environmental inequities exist and to continue to do nothing about them will perpetuate separate societies and will deprive the poor, blacks, and other minorities of equitable environmental protection. O

1

Note: This article is adapted from a
longer paper entitled "Environmental
Racism: Reviewing the Evidence,"
forthcoming in B. Bryant and P.
Mohai, eds., Race and the Incidence of
Environmental Hazards: A Time for
Discourse (Boulder, Colorado:
Westview Press, 1992).

1

I

The Issue

presented papers at the Conference on work their way into policies that

people we met with in Washington, Race and the Incidence of ensure that all Americans can live in

including Congressman John Lewis Environmental Hazards were people of safe, clean, and decent environments. (D-Georgia), and staff members of color. Robert Bullard, Professor of Environmental equity should be the Congressmen John Conyers Sociology at the University of

highest priority for policy makers if (D-Michigan) and Ron Dellums California at Riverside, Beverly Wright, they are indeed interested in

(D-California), the representative for Associate Professor of Sociology at alleviating much of the

the Council on Environmental Quality Wake Forest University, and Charles disproportionate amount of pain and was least familiar with this issue. By Lee, Director of Special Projects on suffering experienced by people in the time we arrived in Washington, Toxic Justice of the Commission of minority and low-income

William Reilly had already sent a Racial Justice of the United Church of communities.

memo to his 12,000 EPA employees Christ, were key in helping us identify A follow-up strategy of the Michigan recognizing Black History Month and other scholars and activists. We also conference was a meeting with key stating more specifically the inherent invited a number of participant

government officials in Washington, value of having a multi-cultural observers from federal and state

DC. A subgroup of conferees sent a workforce reflective of American agencies, such as EPA, the Agency for memo requesting a meeting with Louis society to help ensure an equitable Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, W. Sullivan, Secretary, Department of environmental policy. He also put the Governor's Office of the State of Health and Human Services; William together an internal workgroup to Michigan, the Michigan State

Reilly, Administrator, EPA; and study and report to him on the issues Department of Minority Health, the Michael R. Deland, Chairman, Council raised at the Michigan conference. Michigan Department of Natural

on Environmental Quality. Copies And, on April 9, 1990, at the National Resources, and others.

went to all governors, various state Minority Environmental Career This was the first time that a

legislators, and the Congressional Conference at Howard University, he retrieval/dissemination conference on Black Caucus. In this memo, we

stated: race and the incidence of

proposed to discuss the agencies' environmental hazards was held where involvement in:

Participants in the January 1990

University of Michigan
the majority of presenters of scholarly
papers were people of color. Although understanding the environmental risks

Conference on Race and the
Undertaking research towards

Incidence of Environmental
scholars had worked on various
faced by minority and low income

Hazards conducted an intensive aspects of this issue, the conference communities

review of environmental risk enabled scholar-activists to come

from a socioeconomic together to share their research

Initiating projects to enhance risk findings and to take steps to communication targeted to minority

perspective. This review pointed disseminate information about this and low-income population groups

out significantly disproportionate

health impacts on minorities due most important issue. The conference

Requiring, on a demonstration

to higher rates of exposure to was not only a major step forward in basis, that racial and socioeconomic

pollution
getting scholar-activists to focus their
attention on this issue as a group, but

equity consideration be included in
Regulatory Impact Assessments

To our knowledge, this was the first it gave national visibility to the debate on environmental equity, thus

Ensuring that a racial and

public recognition by EPA that socioeconomic dimension is overlaid

environmental hazards increasing the awareness of government policy makers and lay on present and future geographic

disproportionately impact people of studies of environmental risk

color and the first time the people alike. As a result, we expect

Administrator had agreed to meet with other scholars of color to take this

Enhancing the ability of issue on as a legitimate area of inquiry. "historically black colleges and

any group made up primarily of

people of color to discuss (For more information about the universities" (HBCUs) and other

environmental equity issues. It was outcomes of this conference and the

minority institutions to participate in also the first time that an EPA environmental equity movement, see and contribute to the development of Administrator put together an internal our forthcoming book, Race and the environmental equity

workgroup to focus directly on these Incidence of Environmental Hazards:

issues. • Appointing special assistants for A Time for Discourse.)

While William Reilly has recognized Although race and the incidence of

environmental equity at environmental hazards was seldom an decision-making levels within agencies

the disproportionate impact of

environmental hazards on people of issue for policy makers before the • Developing a policy statement on

color, and has directed the Agency to conference, this is no longer the case; environmental equity.

address this issue, the proof of the policy makers at multiple levels of

We met with William Reilly and an pudding will be not in the discourse or government are involved in assistant to Michael Deland on

in the report itself, but in tangible and environmental equity discussions. And while these discussions may be September 13, 1990. Because of

productive outcomes. O provocative, they still will have to scheduling problems, we were unable

to meet with Louis Sullivan. Of all the