Moving Environmental Justice Indoors

Understanding Structural Influences on Residential Exposure Patterns in Low-Income Communities

Bibliographic Data

ID11036716
AuthorsGary Adamkiewicz (0000-0001-5397-3015, Gary Adamkiewicz, M. Patricia Fabian, Teresa Chahine, John D. Spengler, and Jonathan I. Levy, are with the Department of Environmental Health Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. M. Patricia Fabian and Jonathan I. Levy are also with the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Ami R. Zota is with the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco. Rhona Julien is with the US Environmental Protection Agency,...), Ami R Zota (0000-0003-0710-354X, Gary Adamkiewicz, M. Patricia Fabian, Teresa Chahine, John D. Spengler, and Jonathan I. Levy, are with the Department of Environmental Health Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. M. Patricia Fabian and Jonathan I. Levy are also with the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Ami R. Zota is with the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco. Rhona Julien is with the US Environmental Protection Agency,...), M Patricia Fabian (0000-0002-1658-3349, Gary Adamkiewicz, M. Patricia Fabian, Teresa Chahine, John D. Spengler, and Jonathan I. Levy, are with the Department of Environmental Health Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. M. Patricia Fabian and Jonathan I. Levy are also with the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Ami R. Zota is with the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco. Rhona Julien is with the US Environmental Protection Agency,...), Teresa Chahine (0000-0001-9304-5790, Gary Adamkiewicz, M. Patricia Fabian, Teresa Chahine, John D. Spengler, and Jonathan I. Levy, are with the Department of Environmental Health Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. M. Patricia Fabian and Jonathan I. Levy are also with the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Ami R. Zota is with the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco. Rhona Julien is with the US Environmental Protection Agency,...), Rhona Julien (Gary Adamkiewicz, M. Patricia Fabian, Teresa Chahine, John D. Spengler, and Jonathan I. Levy, are with the Department of Environmental Health Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. M. Patricia Fabian and Jonathan I. Levy are also with the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Ami R. Zota is with the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco. Rhona Julien is with the US Environmental Protection Agency,...), John D Spengler (0000-0003-2569-091X, Gary Adamkiewicz, M. Patricia Fabian, Teresa Chahine, John D. Spengler, and Jonathan I. Levy, are with the Department of Environmental Health Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. M. Patricia Fabian and Jonathan I. Levy are also with the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Ami R. Zota is with the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco. Rhona Julien is with the US Environmental Protection Agency,...), Jonathan I Levy (0000-0002-1116-4006, Gary Adamkiewicz, M. Patricia Fabian, Teresa Chahine, John D. Spengler, and Jonathan I. Levy, are with the Department of Environmental Health Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. M. Patricia Fabian and Jonathan I. Levy are also with the Department of Environmental Health at the Boston University School of Public Health. Ami R. Zota is with the Program on Reproductive Health and the Environment, University of California, San Francisco. Rhona Julien is with the US Environmental Protection Agency,...)
Year2011
Volume101
IssueS1
PagesS238-S245
Publication date2011-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAmerican Journal of Public Health (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0090-0036 • E-ISSN: 1541-0048
PublisherAmerican Public Health Association (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.2105/ajph.2011.300119
PMID21836112
PMCIDPMC3222513
OpenAlexW2089179540
LanguageEN
Citations received47
References cited60

Objectives. The indoor environment has not been fully incorporated into the environmental justice dialogue. To inform strategies to reduce disparities, we developed a framework to identify the individual and place-based drivers of indoor environment quality. Methods. We reviewed empirical evidence of socioeconomic disparities in indoor exposures and key determinants of these exposures for air pollutants, lead, allergens, and semivolatile organic compounds. We also used an indoor air quality model applied to multifamily housing to illustrate how nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ) and fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) vary as a function of factors known to be influenced by socioeconomic status. Results. Indoor concentrations of multiple pollutants are elevated in low-socioeconomic status households. Differences in these exposures are driven by the combined influences of indoor sources, outdoor sources, physical structures, and residential activity patterns. Simulation models confirmed indoor sources’ importance in determining indoor NO 2 and PM 2.5 exposures and showed the influence of household-specific determinants. Conclusions. Both theoretical models and empirical evidence emphasized that disparities in indoor environmental exposure can be significant. Understanding key determinants of multiple indoor exposures can aid in developing policies to reduce these disparities

Built environment · Business · Environmental health · Environmental justice · Indoor air quality · Pollutant · Population · Socioeconomic status · Air Quality and Health Impacts · Ecology · Engineering · Environmental Engineering · Environmental Justice and Health Disparities · Environmental Science · Heavy Metal Exposure and Toxicity · Medicine

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Open DOISci-HubOpen Access