How Federal and State Regulatory Systems Perpetuate Environmental Injustice in the United States: Industrial Ethylene Oxide Emissions as a Case Study.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Ethylene oxide (EtO), a known human carcinogen, is emitted from facilities across the United States. A 2018 assessment by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) showed that areas around EtO-emitting facilities had cancer risk levels up to 24 times the national average. The EPA notified the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) about the high cancer risk to their residents. Our aim was to analyze actions and implementation equity at the federal, state, and community levels since the EPA notification.

Methods

Using publicly available data, we identified U.S. emitters of EtO and then analyzed community, state, and federal actions since the EPA notification through content analysis of internet data using the lens of the environmental inequality formati

SUBMITTER: Wood A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10443120 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature