1/30/25 - Environmental Justice

What is environmental justice?:

• Exposure to risk

  • Waste, pollution, consequences of climate change?

• Access to environmental resources

  • Water privatization

  • Destruction of forest

  • Unmitigated displacement

• Our environment determines many factors affecting our health

• Washington state: HEAL act

  • “A healthy environment for all”

  • Part of the “just a transition” movement

• Toxins are poisonous substances that can cause illness or death

• We have the field of environmental health defined by the World Health Organization as the assessment and control of the biological, chemical, and physical factors that affect our well being

Epidemiology:

• Study of the distribution and determinants of health-related states and events in specific populations

Toxicology:

• Studies negative effects of substances on an organisms

Where exposure occurs:

• Exposure to toxins is an environmental justice concern

• Workplace, food, and agricultural exposure to toxins