EQUITY AND THE DISTRIBUTION OF ENVIRONMENTAL RISK - THE CASE OF TRI FACILITIES

Objective. This manuscript tests competing explanations for the distri bution of environmental risks produced by Toxics Release Inventory (TR I) facilities. In particular, I evaluate claims that risks from TRI fa cilities are concentrated in poor and minority areas, holding constant multiple background characteristics that may also account for the dis tribution of these risks. Methods. A series of probit, negative binomi al event count, and weighted least squares models are used to account for the distribution and density of TRI facilities and the concentrati ons of TRI pollutants in all residential ZIP codes across the United S tates. Results. Even when controlling for background factors, TRI faci lities and pollutants are concentrated in residential ZIP codes with l arge minority populations. Moreover, while other background characteri stics provide the most powerful explanations for the distribution and density of TRI facilities and the concentration of TRI pollutants, the racial attributes of neighborhoods-more than their class attributes-b est account for the remaining patterns in the distribution of environm ental risk. Conclusions. These results provide additional evidence tha t racial minorities experience disproportionate proximity to a wide va riety of environmental risks. The results also suggest the racial comp osition of residential neighborhoods as a relevant criterion when appr oving the location of new TRI facilities.