Abstract:
Previous studies analyzing the relationship between environmental hazards and the socioeconomic characteristics of communities found that inequality in the distribution of hazards among people in the communities was determined by race, ethnicity, and social class. The purpose of this research is to examine the distribution of Superfund and municipal solid waste sites within neighborhoods differing on social, demographic, and economic characteristics of the inhabitants in Tarrant County, Texas. The hypothesis that socially vulnerable communities are more likely to contain solid waste sites than those that are not vulnerable was tested using data from the 2000 U.S. Census and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality lists for Tarrant County. Results show that none of the hypotheses were supported. Population density of a census tract was found to be the influencing factor for waste site presence.

Full Text Article

• Introduction
• Background
• Past Research
• Research Methods
• Hypotheses
• Methods and Data
• Data Analysis and Results
• Discussion
• Conclusion
• References
• Table 1. Frequencies for All Variables
• Table 2. Relationship of Predictor Variables to Site Present in Tract
• Table 3. Relationship of Predictor Variables to Site Present in Tract or Adjacent Tract
• Table 4. Independent Samples Test for Median Income
• Table 5. Independent Samples t-test for Population Density
• Figure 1. Tarrant County: Tracts with Sites and Adjacent Tracts
• Figure 2. Nonwhite Status and Site Locations
• Figure 3. Median Income and Site Locations
• Figure 4. Population Density and Site Locations