Air Pollution, EPA Sites of Concern and Environmental Justice in Los Angeles
description
Transcript of Air Pollution, EPA Sites of Concern and Environmental Justice in Los Angeles
Air Pollution, EPA Sites of Concern and Environmental Justice in Los Angeles
Adam Dorr
Part 1◦ Use pollution data to identify high-risk (“hotspot”)
areas◦ Use demographic data to identify vulnerable
environmental justice communities◦ Identify most vulnerable schools for investment in
indoor air quality improvement Part 2
◦ Build regression model to test predictive value of demographic variables on pollution
Project Goals
EPA National Air Toxics Assessment (NATA) 2002 data:◦ Cancer Risk◦ Neurological Risk◦ Respiratory Risk
Standardized Scales (0-1) Combined NATA Index (0-1) Distance Measures for EPA Sites Index Composite Environmental Risk Index (0-3.5) Regression Models
Sources and Methods
American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates 2005-2009 (US Census Bureau via Social Explorer)
Based on Massachusetts State Law and Atlanta City Code definitions of Environmental Justice Community:◦ 65% or more below median income (assumed: county)◦ 25% or more minority (assumed: ALL not “white alone”)◦ 25% or more foreign born◦ 25% or more under age 10 ◦ 25% or more age 65 or older
Community Vulnerability Scale (0-5)
Sources and Methods
ESRI/Microsoft:◦ California state boundary map◦ Los Angeles County census tracts boundary map◦ Shaded relief basemap◦ Major highways basemap
UCLA Mapshare:◦ Airports◦ Water bodies
Google Earth◦ 3D Imagery
Sources and Methods
Summary of earlier findings
Project Review
ESRI/Microsoft:◦ California state boundary map◦ Los Angeles County census tracts boundary map◦ Shaded relief basemap◦ Major highways basemap
UCLA Mapshare:◦ Airports◦ Water bodies
Combined NATA Risk Index
Rasterization Distance measures Buffers and dissolves Clipping
Part 1: EPA Sites of Concern Analysis
Schools in Downtown Los Angeles high-pollution-risk census tracts
Hotspot Analysis
Downtown Los Angeles 3D Imagery (Google Earth)
Source: Census 2000
Downtown Los Angeles 3D Imagery (Google Earth)
Downtown Los Angeles 3D Imagery (Google Earth)
(some schools not shown)
Improve Indoor Air Quality!
Policy Recommendations
Improved HVAC Air Filtration Low VOC paints and cleaning agents Reduced pesticide application Bioremediation
Policy Recommendations
Improved HVAC Air Filtration Low VOC paints and cleaning agents Reduced pesticide application Bioremediation
Policy Recommendations
Improved HVAC Air Filtration Low VOC paints and cleaning agents Reduced pesticide application Bioremediation
Policy Recommendations
Improved HVAC Air Filtration Low VOC paints and cleaning agents Reduced pesticide application Bioremediation
Policy Recommendations
Race as a predictor of hazardous waste sites
Does apply to air toxics as well?
Part 2: Regression Models
Questions?
Inset map Color graduated symbology Aggregating attribute fields (standardized scales and composite scores) Creating Indices (EJ-Risk Combined Index using field calculators) Geoprocessing (clipping, multiple layers, to create multi-layer layouts) Buffering and dissolve (EPA sites of concern 500m buffer, highways 500m buffer) Rasterization (using model) Distance measure, analysis and original data (EPA sites combined with NATA
data and Census demographics for composite index, using field geometry, proximity counting, Euclidian distance, etc…)
Hotspot analysis of Downtown Los Angeles Attribute subsets selections (selected Los Angeles County EPA sites of concern
from nationwide dataset) Geocoding (EPA sites addresses) Metadata (see slide) Modeling (see slide) Policy question (which schools are at high pollution risk?) and recommendations
(investment in indoor air quality improvement) 3D modeling (using overlays in Google Earth)
GIS Skills Used
Model Used for Rasterization
Example of Metadata