Over the past few decades, the notion of Environmental Justice (EJ) in the
United States has grown. Many empirical studies prove how low-income and minority
neighborhoods are excessively exposed to environmental burdens. This chapter aims to
present an approach to identifying EJ concerns facing minority and low-income
populations in the metropolitan areas in Ohio by analyzing their distribution using
EJSCREEN, a screening and mapping tool developed by the USEPA. Twelve
metropolitan areas were considered to examine environmental and demographical
information. The metropolitan areas are integrated geographic regions comprised of at
least one city or urban area and adjacent communities. In assessing the demographic
inequalities and environmental risk in the regions of the metropolitan areas, the
EJSCREEN tool was used to generate EJ standard reports for all the zip codes in the
metropolitan areas. Two-sample t-test results indicate that diesel PM, hazardous waste,
RMP sites, lead paint, traffic proximity, respiratory hazard risk, and air toxic cancer
risk are significantly higher in areas where a higher proportion of low-income and
minority populations live than the areas with a lower proportion with low-income and
minority populations. These environmental indicators are directly associated with air
pollution.
Keywords: EJSCREEN, Environmental Justice, Metropolitan Areas, Ohio, Statistical Analysis.
