JHA presents Cumulative Health Impacts Analysis Research at EPA Toxic Release Inventory conference

Linn Gould recently presented the Duwamish Valley Cumulative Health Impact Analysis: Seattle, Washington at an EPA conference in Arlington, Virginia.  The EPA and Dillard University’s Deep South Center for Environmental Justice (DSCEJ) co-sponsored the 2014 National Training Conference on the Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) and Environmental Conditions in Communities from May 7-9, 2014.  The Training Conference serves as the main public outreach and training event for EPA’s flagship community right-to-know regulatory program – the Toxics Release Inventory, the goal of which is to provide communities with information about toxic chemical releases and waste management activities.   Many of the indicators for the cumulative analysis were chosen by the community through a Community-Based Participatory Research Approach.  Using multiple indicators including EPA TRI and C-FERST (Community-Focused Exposure and Risk Screening Tool) data, the cumulative analysis showed that Seattle’s Duwamish Valley can be characterized as an area with disproportionate health impacts and environmental injustices.   In fact, residents of the valley have a 13 year difference in life expectancy compared to wealthier parts of Seattle.  The full report can be located here and appendices can be found on JHA’s publications page.