Environmental inequity in England: Small area associations between socio-economic status and environmental pollution

David Briggs, Juan J. Abellan and Daniela Fecht

Social Science & Medicine, 2008, vol. 67, issue 10, 1612-1629

Abstract: Recent studies have suggested that more deprived people tend to live in areas characterised by higher levels of environmental pollution. If generally true, these environmental inequities may combine to cause adverse effects on health and also exacerbate problems of confounding in epidemiological studies. Previous studies of environmental inequity have nevertheless indicated considerable complexity in the associations involved, which merit further investigation using more detailed data and more advanced analytical methods. This study investigates the ways in which environmental inequity in England varies in relation to: (a) different environmental pollutants (measured in different ways); (b) different aspects of socio-economic status; and (c) different geographical scales and contexts (urban vs. rural). Associations were analysed between the Index of Multiple Deprivation (IMD2004) and its domains and five sets of environmental pollutants (relating to road traffic, industry, electro-magnetic frequency radiation, disinfection by-products in drinking water and radon), measured in terms of proximity, emission intensity and environmental concentration. Associations were assessed using bivariate and multivariate correlation, and by comparing the highest and lowest quintiles of deprivation using Student's t-test and Hotelling's T2. Associations are generally weak (R2Â

Keywords: Environmental; equity; Environmental; justice; Deprivation; Socio-economic; status; (SES); UK; Pollution (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2008
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (17)

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