Workplace Ambient Pollution and Workers’ Sociodemographics: Extending Environmental Justice Research

Objective: The environmental justice (EJ) literature has focused on the link between residential pollution and racial and ethnic demographics, as well as socioeconomic status. Yet, many adults spend a significant amount of time at work. EJ effects in workplaces are little, if at all, examined. Here, we add consideration of workplace environmental disparities to EJ research. Methods: We use multivariate regression analysis to investigate work-area ambient pollution and sociodemographics. We analyze the following research questions: What patterns exist between workplace ambient pollution and the proportion of minority workers? May wage mechanisms explain such patterns? For employees’ sociodemographics, we use census tract-level data from the Longitudinal Origin-Destination Employment Statistics (LODES) dataset, and we measure pollution burden using data from CalEnviroScreen 4.0. Results: Work-area ambient pollution varies systematically by race and ethnicity in California. Specifically, increases in the percent of Hispanic, Black, and Asian workers are associated with more-polluted tracts. Based on market rational risk response, we expect that workers require more wage compensation to work in more-polluted areas. However, we find that such compensation is lower for Hispanic, Black, Asian, and Native American employees. Conclusions: These results highlight potential inequities concerning workplace EJ. Knowing that minority people are working in disproportionately polluted areas exacerbates health concerns around the already-known residential EJ effects. To improve public health, policies such as the California Clean Air Technology Initiative should jointly consider residential and work-area exposure.