Increasing disparities in health based on the dimensions of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status (SES) have received considerable attention. Much of this disparity has been traced to differences in social and physical environments. For example, it is well documented that communities of color, low-income, and working class communities are disproportionately burdened with society's hazardous waste, including air, water, and land pollution from industries, medical, and municipal solid waste incinerators. Traditional assessment of this relationship between environment and health does not adequately include and consider valid the public's perception of environmental exposure, nor does it involve the public in the actual assessment of risk.
This presentation will address the limitations of traditional risk assessment by considering multiple methods of assessing urban blight and deterioration [e.g., vacant lots, illegal dump sites, abandoned factories, odors] and including community residents in the research process. The case study is drawn from an NIEHS/EPA-funded project in Detroit, Michigan referred to as the Michigan Center for the Environment and Children's Health [MCECH]. Using a community-based participatory research approach, the MCECH partners worked together to determine the presence of environmental stressors in their neighborhoods and identify the potential health effects of exposure to those stressors.
Learning Objectives: After the presentation, session participants will be able to: 1) discuss the limitations of traditional risk assessment, 2) compare the process of traditional risk assessment to the process of community-based participatory research, 3) list the data collection methods that can be used to conduct an environmental assessment using CBPR, 4) articulate the future of potential collaboration between environmental risk assessment and CBPR.
Keywords: Environmental Justice, Risk Assessment
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
Organization/institution whose products or services will be discussed: None
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.