Abstract
Background
Differential exposure to environmental hazards is one component of the social gradient in health. Few studies have investigated the association between socio-economic characteristics and environmental hazards in a Canadian context. We assessed the relationships between pollution emissions and socio-economic characteristics for 27 municipalities on Montreal Island.
Methods
Pollution emissions were determined using Environment Canada’s National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI) for the periods 1995–1996 and 2000–2001. Variables included the number of reporting industries, the average annual releases, and the average annual releases density. These data were cross-referenced with socio-economic data from the 1996 and 2001 Canadian Censuses, respectively.
Results
For both periods, pollution measures were inversely related to the average monthly amount of owners’ major payments, the average income of households, the proportion of workers in the tertiary sector, and the proportion of individuals with a university education. Pollution measures were positively associated with the unemployment rate, the proportion of workers in the secondary sector, and the proportion of individuals with less than high school education.
Conclusion
Socio-economic characteristics are associated with municipal-level pollution emissions on Montreal Island. Whether higher emissions are indicative of higher pollution exposure requires further investigation.
MeSH terms: Socioeconomic status (SES), immigrants, environmental pollutants, urban population, Canada
Résumé
Contexte
Les différences dans l’exposition aux risques environnementaux sont une des composantes du gradient social en matière de santé. Peu d’études ont étudié l’association entre les caractéristiques socioéconomiques et les risques environnementaux dans un contexte canadien. Nous avons évalué les relations entre les rejets de polluants et les caractéristiques socioéconomiques de 27 municipalités localisées sur l’île de Montréal.
Méthode
Les rejets de polluants ont été déterminés en utilisant l’Inventaire national des rejets de polluants (INRP) d’Environnement Canada pour les périodes 1995–1996 et 2000–2001. Les variables utilisées sont le nombre d’industries déclarantes, la moyenne annuelle de rejets et la densité annuelle moyenne de rejets de polluants. Ces données ont été croisées, respectivement, avec des données socioéconomiques des recensements canadiens de 1996 et de 2001.
Résultats
Au cours des deux périodes, les mesures de rejet de polluants étaient inversement liées à la moyenne mensuelle des principales dépenses des propriétaires, au revenu moyen des ménages, à la proportion d’ouvriers dans le secteur tertiaire, et à la proportion de personnes qui ont fait des études universitaires. Les mesures de pollution ont montré des associations positives avec le taux de chômage, la proportion d’ouvriers dans le secteur secondaire, et la proportion de personnes ayant un niveau d’étude inférieur au certificat d’études secondaires.
Conclusion
Des caractéristiques socioéconomiques sont associées aux mesures de pollution à l’échelle des municipalités de l’île de Montréal. Davantage de recherches sont nécessaires pour vérifier si des émissions plus importantes sont aussi associées à des expositions plus élevées.
Footnotes
This research was supported in part by a scholarship from the Fonds québécois de recherche sur la société et la culture (FQRSC) (for SP) and by Science-Metrix (for FB). The authors are grateful to the Institut de la Statistique du Québec for providing data for these analyses, to Grégoire Côté from Science-Metrix for his valuable work in standardizing the data for statistical purposes, and to Karen Messing for helpful comments.
References
- 1.Lynch JW, Kaplan GA, Pamuk ER, Cohen RD, Heck KE, Balfour JL, et al. Income inequality and mortality in metropolitan areas of the United States. Am J Public Health. 1998;88:1074–80. doi: 10.2105/AJPH.88.7.1074. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 2.Mackenbach JP, Kunst AE, Cavelaars AEJM, Groenhof F, Geurts JJM, Andersen O, et al. Socioeconomic inequalities in morbidity and mortality in western Europe. Lancet. 1997;349:1655–59. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(96)07226-1. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 3.Wilkinson R, Marmot M. Social Determinants of Health: The Solid Facts. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organisation; 2003. [Google Scholar]
- 4.Williams DR, Collins C. US socioeconomic and racial-differences in health — Patterns and explanations. Annu Rev Sociol. 1995;21:349–86. doi: 10.1146/annurev.so.21.080195.002025. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 5.Finkelstein MM, Jerrett M, Sears MR. Environmental inequality and circulatory disease mortality gradients. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2005;59:481–87. doi: 10.1136/jech.2004.026203. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 6.The American Lung Association. Urban air pollution and health inequities: A workshop report. Environ Health Perspect. 2001;109(Suppl3):357–74. doi: 10.1289/ehp.01109s3357. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 7.Brown P. Race, class, and environmental health: A review and systematization of the literature. Environ Res. 1995;69:15–30. doi: 10.1006/enrs.1995.1021. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 8.Elliott MR, Wang Y, Lowe RA, Kleindorfer PR. Environmental justice: Frequency and severity of US chemical industry accidents and the socio-economic status of surrounding communities. J Epidemiol Community Health. 2004;58:24–30. doi: 10.1136/jech.58.1.24. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 9.Perlin SA, Sexton K, Wong DWS. An examination of race and poverty for populations living near industrial sources of air pollution. J Expo Anal Environ Epidemiol. 1999;9:29–48. doi: 10.1038/sj.jea.7500024. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 10.Lopez R. Segregation and black/white differences in exposure to air toxics in 1990. Environ Health Perspect. 2002;110:289–95. doi: 10.1289/ehp.02110s2289. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 11.Bowen WM, Salling MJ, Haynes KE, Cyran EJ. Toward environmental justice: Spatial equity in Ohio and Cleveland. Ann Assoc Am Geogr. 1995;85:641–63. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8306.1995.tb01818.x. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 12.Buzzelli M, Jerrett M. Racial gradients of ambient air pollution exposure in Hamilton, Canada. Environ Plan A. 2004;36:1855–76. doi: 10.1068/a36151. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 13.Jerrett M, Eyles J, Cole D, Reader S. Environmental equity in Canada: An empirical investigation into the income distribution of pollution in Ontario. Environ Plan A. 1997;29:1777–800. doi: 10.1068/a291777. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 14.Handy F. Income and air pollution in Hamilton, Ontario. Alternatives. 1977;6:18–24. [Google Scholar]
- 15.Buzzelli M, Jerrett M, Burnett R, Finklestein N. Spatiotemporal perspectives on air pollution and environmental justice in Hamilton, Canada, 1985–1996. Ann Assoc Am Geogr. 2003;93:557–73. doi: 10.1111/1467-8306.9303003. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 16.Jerrett M, Burnett RT, Kanaroglou P, Eyles J, Finkelstein N, Giovis C, et al. A GIS — environmental justice analysis of particulate air pollution in Hamilton, Canada. Environ Plan A. 2001;33:955–73. doi: 10.1068/a33137. [DOI] [Google Scholar]
- 17.Weed DL, McKeown RE. Science and social responsibility in public health. Environ Health Perspect. 2003;111:1804–8. doi: 10.1289/ehp.6198. [DOI] [PMC free article] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 18.Statistics Canada. Canadian Population Rank by Urban Area. Ottawa, ON: Government of Canada; 2002. [Google Scholar]
- 19.National Pollutant Release Inventory. 2001 National Overview: Final Disposal and Off-site Transfers for Treatment Prior to Final Disposal. Gatineau, QC: Environment Canada; 2003. [Google Scholar]
- 20.Bullard RD, Wright BH. Environmental justice for all — Community perspectives on health and research needs. Toxicol Ind Health. 1993;9:821–41. doi: 10.1177/074823379300900508. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 21.Helfand GE, Peyton LJ. A conceptual model of environmental justice. Soc Sci Q. 1999;80:68–83. [Google Scholar]
- 22.Dooley D, Fielding J, Levi L. Health and unemployment. Annu Rev Public Health. 1996;17:449–65. doi: 10.1146/annurev.pu.17.050196.002313. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 23.Hébert F, Duguay P, Massicotte P. Les indicateurs de lésions indemnisées en santé et en sécurité du travail au Québec: analyse par secteur d’activité économique en 1995–1997. Montréal, QC: IRSST, 2003.
- 24.Elo IT, Preston SH. Educational differentials in mortality: United States, 1979–85. Soc Sci Med. 1996;42:47–57. doi: 10.1016/0277-9536(95)00062-3. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 25.Adler NE, Boyce T, Chesney MA, Cohen S, Folkman S, Kahn RL, et al. Socioeconomic status and health. The challenge of the gradient. Am Psychol. 1994;49:15–24. doi: 10.1037/0003-066X.49.1.15. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 26.Krieger N, Williams DR, Moss NE. Measuring social class in US public health research: Concepts, methodologies, and guidelines. Annu Rev Public Health. 1997;18:341–78. doi: 10.1146/annurev.publhealth.18.1.341. [DOI] [PubMed] [Google Scholar]
- 27.Direction de santé publique de Montréal. Montréal. 2002. La santé urbaine: une condition nécessaire à l’essor de Montréal. [Google Scholar]
- 28.National Environmental Justice Advisory Council Cumulative Risks/Impacts Work Group. Ensuring Risk Reduction in Communities with Multiple Stressors: Environmental Justice and Cumulative Risks/Impacts. 2004. [Google Scholar]
- 29.Duchemin É, Guyon S, Lacroix S, Si-Ammour S. Étude exploratoire sur la situation des salariées immigrantes du Québec, recensement de 1996. Montréal: CAMO-Personnes Immigrantes, 2003.
- 30.Daniels G, Friedman S. Spatial inequality and the distribution of industrial toxic releases: Evidence from the 1990 TRI. Soc Sci Q. 1999;80:244–62. [Google Scholar]
- 31.Ringquist EJ. Equity and the distribution of environmental risk: The case of TRI facilities. Soc Sci Q. 1997;78:811–29. [Google Scholar]