TESTING FOR ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM - PREJUDICE, PROFITS, POLITICAL-POWER

Economic theories offer many explanations for why exposure to environm ental risks may vary by race: pure discrimination by polluters or poli ticians in siting decisions; differences in willingness to pay for env ironmental amenities linked to income or education levels; and variati ons in the propensity of communities to engage in collective action to oppose the location of potential polluters. This article tests these hypotheses by focusing on the capacity decisions of commercial hazardo us waste facilities. Zip code neighborhoods targeted for capacity expa nsion in plans for 1987-1992 by commercial hazardous waste facilities had an average nonwhite population of 25 percent, versus 18 percent fo r those areas without net expansion. Differences in the probability th at residents will raise a firm's expected location costs by engaging i n collective action to oppose capacity siting offer the best explanati on for which neighborhoods are selected for capacity expansions.