Talk examines racially disproportionate impact of 5 proven environmental stressors

1. Inequities in Environmental Stress: Implications for Environmental Justice Larry Baker WaterThink, LLC and University of Minnesota Water Resources Center Guest lecture presented for ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE AND SOCIAL CHANGE Augsburg College Sept. 29, 2009

4. How important are environmental stressors to the health of disadvantaged groups? Would reducing these environmental stressors improve the mental and physical health of these groups? Questions WaterThink, LLC

6. Lead effects are well understood Source: Needleman, 2004 - “Elevated BLL” > 10 ug/dL - Effects down to 2 ug/dL - Clinical symptoms > 60 WaterThink, LLC

7. Elevated blood lead levels in the U.S. by race, income, and urban status Source: Brody et al., 1994 “ Elevated” blood lead = 10 ug/dL WaterThink, LLC

8. Historical trend: American children ages 1-5 with blood lead levels greater than 10 ug/dL Source: Centers for Disease Control (several sources) WaterThink, LLC 3.1 1.3 1.6 1999-2002 11.2 2.3 4.4 1991-1994 18 6 8.6 1988-1991 -- -- 88.2 1976-1980 Black, non-Hispanic White, non-Hispanic All races % of children

9. Minnesota children tested for lead who have elevated blood lead levels (Source: MN Dept. of Health) MNHCP = Minnesota Health Care Programs (low income) WaterThink, LLC

10. Trend of Blood Lead Levels in Minnesota’s children Source: Minnesota's Lead Poisoning Prevention Programs: Report to the Legislature, Feb. 2009 WaterThink, LLC

11. Old buildings (source) Inner city neighborhood Stormwater Sediment accumulation zones Pealing paint Suburban region Air dispersal Rural areas Streams and rivers Ocean Air dispersal Soil (source) Where does lead come from? Where does it go? A biogeochemist’s perspective Source: Baker (2009) The Water Environment of Cities Street sweeping Landfill WaterThink, LLC

12. Stressor #2: Heat Source: NOAA WaterThink, LLC

13. Heat stress from urban heat island WaterThink, LLC

15. Effect of urban heat island on violent crime Source: Anderson, 2001. National average: 450 violent crimes per 100,000 (FBI statistics) From graph: UHI effect = 10 o F = + 45 violent crimes/100,000 (10% increase) WaterThink, LLC

16. Long term average = 170/year Distribution of heat-related deaths in the U.S. WaterThink, LLC

17. Mitigation of urban heat island Source: EPA websites WaterThink, LLC

19. Asthma rates among racial and ethnic groups in Hennepin County Source: MN Dept of Health, Asthma in Minnesota 2008 WaterThink, LLC

21. Source: Aeromatic Information Retrieval System (AIRS), Environmental Protection Agency (Slide from the Centers for Disease Control). Persons Living in Areas that do not Meet EPA Standards for Ozone Percent of population 2010 Target = 0% 1997 2004 Total American Indian White Black Hispanic Asian Native Hawaiian Decrease desired

22. Stressor #4: Noise pollution WaterThink, LLC

23. One example of noise levels: Mpls-St. Paul Airport WaterThink, LLC

24. Stressor #5 Toxins Fish Consumption Advisory Study Burgess et al., J. Risk Assessment, 2004 Reasons advisory has not followed: 1. Failure to hear about advisory: 38% Hispanic, 45% black; 68% white 2. Advisory ignored: - Distrust of the government - Suspicious of government motives -Failure of anyone who got sick -Belief that they could determine if a fish was bad by look or smell. WaterThink, LLC

27. References Anderson, C. A. 2001. Heat and violence. derson, C.A. Current Directions in Psychological Science 10 . Baker, L. 2009. New directions in urban pollution management. in L. A. Baker, editor. The Water Environment of Cities. Springer Science, Lowell, MA. Baker, L. A., A. J. Brazel, N. Selover, C. Martin, N. McIntyre, F. R. Steiner, A. Nelson, and L. Musacchio. 2002. Urbanization and warming of Phoenix (Arizona, USA): Impacts, feedbacks, and mitigation. Urban Ecosystems 6 :183-203. Brody, D., J. L. Pirkle, R. A. Kramer, K. M. Flegal, T. D. Matte, Gunter, E.W., and D. C. Paschal. 1994. Blood lead levels in the U.S. population. Phase I fo the Third National Health adn Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES II, 1988-1991) Burgess et al. 2004 ? Chepesiuk, R. 2005. Decibel Hell. Environmental Health Perspectives 113 :A37-A41. Needleman, H. 2004. Lead poisoning. Annu. Rev. Med 55 :209-222. JAMA 272 :277-283.