Environmental Equity and Hazardous Waste Facilities: Assessing Socioeconomic Disparities in Pomona, CA
Author:
Cynthia JoeMentor:
Michael Reibel, Professor of Geography, California State Polytechnic University PomonaThis study examines inequities around hazardous waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities (TSDFs) as suggested by the environmental justice movement. The environmental justice movement emerged in the 1980s to protest the placement of waste sites and polluting industrial facilities in predominantly low-income and minority neighborhoods. In examining the prevalence of environmental inequity in the City of Pomona, racial, economic, and sociopolitical characteristics are evaluated in comparison to the location of TSDFs using statistical analysis and spatial mapping. Findings in literature suggest a substantial difference between areas with and without hazardous waste by race, income, employment patterns, and political participation.