Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
of environmental justice scholarship (Williams 1999). For example, in
1982, the U.S. General Accountability Offi ce (GAO)
1
examined the loca-
tion of four landfi lls containing hazardous wastes in the Southeast
portion of the country. While the racial minority population in the region
averaged 20 percent, the four facilities were located in communities
where they made up 38, 52, 66, and 90 percent of the population. Based
on the trends, the GAO concluded that there was enough evidence to be
concerned about decision making regarding the location of facility siting
(General Accounting Offi ce 1983).
The relationship between race
2
and environmental exposure has been
confi rmed in numerous studies (e.g., Adeola 1994; Bryant and Mohai
1992; Bullard 1990; Mohai and Bryant 1992; Goldman 1993). A widely
cited study conducted by the United Church of Christ showed that,
independent of class, communities of color in the United States are at
disproportionate risk from commercial toxic waste (United Church
of Christ Commission for Racial Justice 1987). It also led to the coining
of the term
environmental racism
by Benjamin Chavis. Based on these
fi ndings, he maintained that the practice of targeting communities of
color as places to locate toxic waste sites and allowing these residents to
be exposed to pollutants represented a form of discrimination.
Growing awareness and anger about environmental racism in the
location of toxic facilities contributed to the emergence of an environ-
mental justice movement that mobilized to bring attention to these issues
and to alter decisions and actions (Cole and Foster 2001; Gottlieb 1993).
While the concept of environmental racism points to the presence and
location of the problem, environmental justice often is associated with a
more positive outlook because it emphasizes a desired outcome (Bryant
1995). The integration of a justice perspective into the claims and vision
of the environmental movement fosters greater appreciation for and
understanding of the relationship between humans and the environment
(Bullard 1993). From this perspective, environmental concerns are not
limited to nature and natural resources, but extend to ways the natural
environment sustains and affects human health and well-being. In other
words, people are entitled to equal access to environmental goods such
as clean air, parks, and water as well as to equal protection from envi-
ronmental threats (Bullard 1993; Agyeman, Bullard, and Evans 2003).
The centrality of race as the driving factor in the location of toxic
waste and facility sitings has been challenged by scholars who argue that
socioeconomic status and market forces are at the root of these decisions
(e.g., Been 1994). For more than two decades, the debate has ensued
