New EPA Environmental Health Indicators

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently released a collection of pilot health indicators that are often associated with disproportionate hazard exposure in marginalized communities. In addition to the geospatial capabilities of locating hazards relative to a community’s racial, economic, and housing characteristics with EJSCREEN 2.3, you can now use these aggregate data as another layer of empirical evidence of poorer health outcomes due to cumulative disadvantages and environmental hazard exposure. Particularly interesting, for example, are differences in blood lead levels in childhood across racial and poverty indicators. From the EPA:

“The pilot six indicators include:

  • Blood Lead Levels
  • Population in Monitored Counties Meeting PM2.5 National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS)
  • Age-adjusted Hypertension
  • Adverse Birth Outcomes
  • Childhood Asthma Prevalence
  • Life Expectancy”