Environmental Justice: The Arizona Experience

Abstract

This work aims to determine the existence of a disparate impact of pollution on minority residents in Maricopa County, Arizona, caused by the siting decisions of polluting facilities as well as the household decision to move into polluted communities. Using US Census data alongside data from the EPA’s Toxic Release Inventory (TRI), this paper finds evidence that (1) minorities in Maricopa County do suffer from a disparate impact from pollution and (2) that race is a significant predictor for the siting of a TRI facility and (3) the causality can be reversed as minority residents also move toward the pollution. These findings support assertions made by environmental justice advocates and broaden the existing literature by providing yet more evidence of minorities suffering a disparate impact from pollution and revealing that minorities tend to migrate toward polluted communities thus underscoring the need for community involvement in the process of policy development.