The juxtaposition and spatial disconnect of environmental justice declarations and actual risk: A new method and its application to New York State

Some states are defining environmental justice areas geographically on the basis of demographic criteria alone. This is problematic as it does not consider distributive concentrations of environmental toxins. Although environmental justice is much more than avoiding concentrations of increased environmental risk, the identification of such areas could provide states with a roadmap for addressing concentrations and for the facilitation of appropriate community-targeted programs in response. This research proposes an applied quantitative approach for the geographic designation of areas determined to be at greater relative risk of exposure to environmental toxins as part of states' broader environmental justice goals and policies. Using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Risk Screening Environmental Impact Tool (RSEI) and spatial analyses, the proposed method defines geographic areas reflecting calculated risk values pertaining to exposed populations and toxic releases. The method is applied to four counties of New York, and the results are juxtaposed with current state-declared environmental justice areas, which are defined on demography alone. This approach permits geospatial mapping and exploratory spatial data analysis. The method potentially can be used by states to effectively address concentrations of toxic releases as part of their environmental justice programs and policies.

► A method for identifying areas exposed to environmental toxins is proposed. ► Results are juxtaposed with New York State declared environmental justice areas. ► A spatial disjunct is determined to exist. ► Our findings may be beneficial for improving state environmental justice policies.