Who Gets What? Examining the Demographics TRI Siting Across Place

• In Event: 50620 - Section on Environmental Sociology Roundtables
  In Refereed Roundtable (60 minute): Table 8: Environmental Inequalities and Harm 2

Abstract

Hordes of studies over the past forty years have analyzed the relationship between community racial demographics and toxic facility presence. Findings have consistently shown that communities of color, specifically Black communities in the United States, have a disproportionate amount of said facilities. I extend the current literature on the racialized distribution of toxic facilities by providing a more comprehensive national baseline through measuring the relationship between race and Toxic Release Inventory (TRI) facility presence at the place level. In this project, I broadly ask, What is the racialized distribution of EPA Toxic Release Inventory Facilities? I further ask, 1) What is the relationship between census place racial demographics and the likelihood of having a facility? 2) What is the relationship between residential segregation (measured by place dissimilarity) and the likelihood of having a facility? 3) How do region and time shape these relationships? Using a novel dataset which merges census place demographics with TRI information, findings show a significant, yet U-Shaped curve in the relationship between a census place’s percent Black in the rural south. Additionally, dissimilarity is significant nationwide. These findings points to greater regional and urban complications in understanding the political economy of toxic facilities and how environmental racism manifests.

Author

• Major Eason, Harvard University