“Immigrants struggle to get access to health care and we know from this study that they also face disproportionate exposure to cancer-causing chemicals based on where they live,” Professor Grineski says. “This is a serious problem.”
To measure hazard exposure, the researchers used spatial data from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, the National Air Toxics Assessment, and the Emergency Response Notification System. Results demonstrated the complexities found in human-hazard associations and the roles of hazard characteristics (such as how often a hazard occurs and its magnitude) in shaping disparate risk patterns.
The finding by Professor Grineski and colleagues that immigrant Hispanics and black participants basically had the same risk profile means that these groups are disproportionately exposed to environmental hazards. U.S.-born Hispanics and white participants had much lower levels of exposure to those hazards.
In addition, study participants over 65 were notably more likely to live in areas with more accidental releases of hazardous chemicals through chemical spills, explosions, or fires involving chemicals, and the illegal dumping of chemicals. “Because of the catastrophic potential of these types of accidents, this is an important finding,” Professor Grineski says. Older adults are more likely to have mobility restrictions that make evacuations more difficult, and so emergency responders should be aware of the increased potential need for evacuation assistance.
The study also revealed that higher-income people were more likely than lower-income people to live within the 100-year flood zone because it offers such amenities as ready access to water and beach views. Their flood risk is thus disproportionately higher. However, affluent residents living in flood zones have the opportunity under the National Flood Insurance Program to get federally subsidized flood insurance, which is also available to lower-income people living in Miami flood zones.
