The Environmental Justice Movement has illuminated the fact that people of color are disproportionately and excessively exposed to chemical and physical hazards in the environment. While there are egregious localized instances of environmental injustice, in aggregate, urban populations of color exposed to a multitude of hazards represent a sizable proportion of those who are affected by environmentally unjust policies and practices. The goal of this project is to inform and empower the predominantly low income people of color in three urban communities in Northern Manhattan (specifically, Central Harlem, West Harlem, and Washington Heights) about the excess levels of airborne particulate matter and carbon monoxide from heavy car, bus, and truck traffic as well as other environmental pollutants to which they are exposed. The proposed means of accomplishing this is to strengthen and elaborate newly formed linkages between community residents, environmental health researchers, and health care providers who live and work in these neighborhoods through: public forums to identify and prioritize community environmental concerns; interventions for health care providers on targeted environmental exposures; environmental health leadership training for community residents around identified hazards; and environment and health conferences to exchange ideas and information around environmental issues of concern. The long term goal of these efforts is to help intervene and reduce exposure to environmental toxicants which are adversely affecting the health of these disadvantaged, medically undeserved, predominantly African-American and Latino populations in Northern Manhattan. Through careful documentation, evaluation, and dissemination of findings, the model to be developed here can be generalized to other communities and adapted to accommodate regional environmental concerns.
| Sze, Julie; Prakash, Swati (2004) Human genetics, environment, and communities of color: ethical and social implications. Environ Health Perspect 112:740-5 |
