Some More Polluted than Others: Unequal
Cumulative Industrial Hazard Burdens in the
Philadelphia MSA, USA
(forthcoming in Local Environment )
Diane M. Sicotte, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Sociology
Drexel University

1. Considering all state- and federally-regulated environmental hazards (factories, hazardous waste, power plants, incinerators and sewage), do some communities in the
Philadelphia area bear an inequitable burden of environmental hazards?
2. If inequalities exist, how extensive are they?
3. Which social characteristics put communities more (or less) at risk of extensive burdening?

Study Area:
Philadelphia MSA
369
Communities
(357 townships, boroughs & cities; 12 Phila
Planning
Analysis Areas)

• With ArcView, map all hazardous sites, assigning points value to each.
• Add together all points for each community.
• Define “extensively burdened communities” as those with more hazard points than 90% of communities in the Philadelphia MSA.
• Calculate risk of being extensively burdened by each community characteristic.

Hazard Scores
Points for rating severity of each type of hazardous facility or site
State-regulated abandoned contaminated waste site
U.S. EPA Superfund site (not on NPL)
U.S. EPA Superfund NPL site
Large power plant—top five polluter (statewide)
Small power plant
Proposed power plant
TRI industrial facility
Commercial hazardous waste treatment, storage and disposal facility
Municipal incinerator
Demolition landfill
Large sewage treatment plant or sludge management facility
Municipal solid waste landfill
Waste tire pile
Trash transfer station
20
3
5
5
5
5
10
5
5
5
5
5
25
25

Characteristics that increase or decrease risk of being extensively burdened: Bordering the Delaware
RISK
Community Borders Delaware River
Percent
Extensively Risk Ratio
Burdened (95% CI)
44.44
7.58 (4.39 – 13.07)

Characteristics that increase/decrease risk of extensive burdening: Race/Ethnicity
RISK
Percent
Extensively Risk Ratio
Burdened (95% CI)
Percent Black
0 – 1.08
1.09 – 3.03
3.04 – 9.81
9.82 – 89.98
Percent Hispanic
0 – .9582
.9583 – 1.75
1.76 – 3.53
3.54 – 38.70
Percent White
2.46 – 81.27
81.28 – 91.00
91.01 – 94.96
94.97 – 100.00
7.89
13.16
39.47
39.47
2.56
25.64
28.21
43.59
41.03
43.59
5.13
10.26
0.26 (0.08 – 0.84)
0.45 (0.18 – 1.11)
1.93 (1.05 – 3.54)
1.95 (1.07 – 3.59)
0.79 (0.01 – 0.57)
1.03 (0.52 – 2.04)
1.18 (0.61 – 2.27)
2.31 (1.29 – 4.17)
2.08 (1.15 – 3.76)
2.34 (1.30 – 4.21)
0.16 (0.04 – 0.66)
0.34 (0.12 – 0.94)

Characteristics that increase/decrease risk of extensive burdening: Social Class
RISK
Percent
Extensively Risk Ratio
Burdened (95% CI)
Median Household Income
$19,361 - $45,368
$45,369 - $55,085
$55,086 - $66,891
$66,892 - $130,096
Percent Age 25 with no H.S. Diploma
1.34 – 8.87
8.88 – 13.80
13.81 – 19.10
19.11 – 48.96
Percent of Housing Units Vacant
0 – 2.67
2.68 – 3.89
3.90 – 5.60
5.61 – 20.64
35.90
28.21
25.64
10.26
4.35
7.69
12.77
17.39
6.59
10.87
7.45
17.39
1.69 (0.92 – 3.10)
1.18 (0.61 – 2.28)
1.02 (0.52 – 2.02)
0.34 (0.13 – 0.94)
0.34 (0.13 – 0.94)
0.67 (0.31 – 1.46)
1.30 (0.69 – 2.46)
2.09 (1.16 – 3.79)
0.56 (0.24 – 1.28)
1.04 (0.53 – 2.05)
0.64 (0.29 – 1.40)
2.09 (1.16 – 3.79)

…But one characteristic did not make a difference in risk of extensive burdening:
Percent Employed in Manufacturing
RISK
Percent Employed in Manufacturing
0 – 10.46
10.47 – 13.80
13.81 – 19.10
19.11 – 48.96
Percent
Extensively Risk Ratio
Burdened (95% CI)
7.61
11.96
13.98
8.70
0.66 (0.30 – 1.44)
1.18 (0.61 – 2.28)
1.48 (0.80 – 2.77)
0.78 (0.37 – 1.63)
Why?

How Does Chester Rank?

Chester ranks 7 th of the 38 most extensively burdened communities in the Philadelphia MSA
Philadelphia MSA Community
Camden City (NJ)
Falls Township (PA)
Pennsauken Township (NJ)
Bridesburg-Kensington-Richmond,
Philadelphia (PA)
West Deptford Township (NJ)
Franklin Township (NJ)
Upper Merion Township (PA)
Near Northeast, Philadelphia (PA)
South Philadelphia (PA)
Bristol Township (PA)
Chester City (PA)
Bordering
Delaware
River?
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
Total
Hazard
Points
Percent
White
Median
Household
Income
270
210
208
200
7.49
$23,421
89.29
$50,129
55.91
$47,538
64.82
$22,500
Yes
No
No
Yes
Yes
Yes
Yes
185
185
135
135
135
110
110
90.99
$50,583
88.34
$55,169
88.28
$65,636
75.37
$34,310
51.87
$24,500
83.90
$48,090
17.78
$25,703

Chester bears a disproportionate burden of 2 types of hazards
Philadelphia MSA
Community
Chester City (PA)
Hazardous
Waste Points
(% of 4,400)
Power Plant
Points
(% of 320)
Industrial
Facilities
Points
(% of 2,679)
Waste
Points
(% of 428)
15 (0.3%) 30 (9.4%) 40 (1.5%) 5 (5.8%)
Chester City alone bears 9.4% of the Power Plant
Points and 5.8% of the Waste Points for the entire nine-county Philadelphia MSA.

1. Considering all state- and federally-regulated environmental hazards (factories, hazardous waste, power plants, incinerators and sewage), do some communities in the Philadelphia area bear an inequitable burden of environmental hazards?
• Yes.
2. If inequalities exist, how extensive are they?
• They are extensive, striking and significant.
3. Which social characteristics put communities more (or less) at risk of extensive burdening?
• Location near the Delaware River; minority populations of more than 3%; anything below the highest Median Household Income; high proportions of vacant homes and high-school dropouts.

• Future research: a historical study of the development of industry, the politics of power generation and waste disposal, and residential segregation in the Philadelphia MSA.