Protocol - Environmental Justice
Description
The Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (EJSCREEN) is an environmental justice mapping and screening tool that provides a nationally consistent dataset and approach for combining environmental and demographic indicators. EJSCREEN users choose a geographic area that can be as small as a census block; the tool then provides demographic and environmental information for that area. All the EJSCREEN indicators are publicly available data. EJSCREEN provides a way to display this information and includes a method for combining environmental and demographic indicators into environmental justice (EJ) indexes.
The 11 EJ index names are as follows:
- National Scale Air Toxics Assessment Air Toxics Cancer Risk
- National Scale Air Toxics Assessment Respiratory Hazard Index
- National Scale Air Toxics Assessment Diesel PM (DPM)
- Particulate Matter (PM2.5)
- Ozone
- Lead Paint Indicator
- Traffic Proximity and Volume
- Proximity to Risk Management Plan Sites
- Proximity to Treatment Storage and Disposal Facilities
- Proximity to National Priorities List Sites
- Proximity to Major Direct Water Dischargers
There are six demographic indicators:
- Percent low income
- Percentage of a block group's population in households where the household income is less than or equal to twice the federal "poverty level."
- Percent minority
- Percentage of individuals in a block group who list their racial status as a race other than white alone and/or list their ethnicity as Hispanic or Latino (i.e., all people other than non-Hispanic, white-alone individuals). The word "alone" in this case indicates that the person is of a single race, not multiracial.
- Less than high school education
- Percentage of people aged 25 or older in a block group whose education is short of a high school diploma.
- Linguistic isolation
- Percentage of people in a block group living in linguistically isolated households. A household in which all members aged 14 years or older speak a non-English language and speak English less than "very well" (have difficulty with English) is linguistically isolated.
- Individuals younger than age 5
- Percentage of people in a block group younger than age 5.
- Individuals older than age 64
- Percentage of people in a block group older than age 64.
EJSCREEN provides two indexes that are based on the aforementioned demographic indicators:
- A demographic index is based on the average of two demographic indicators: percent low income and percent minority.
Each EJ index combines demographic indicators with a single environmental indicator. From the map, the user can select an area to generate a downloadable report from a selected area and compare it with the state, Environmental Protection Agency region, or the nation. The report includes data that the user can use to compare populations with any of the indexes.
Specific Instructions
None
Availability
Protocol
Personnel and Training Required
None
Equipment Needs
Access to the Internet
Requirements
| Requirement Category | Required |
|---|---|
| Major equipment | No |
| Specialized training | No |
| Specialized requirements for biospecimen collection | No |
| Average time of greater than 15 minutes in an unaffected individual | No |
Mode of Administration
Secondary Data Analysis
Lifestage
Infant, Toddler, Child, Adolescent, Adult, Senior, Pregnancy
Participants
Not applicable; derived from publicly available secondary data
Selection Rationale
EJSCREEN was chosen because it uses standard and nationally consistent data and enables users to access environmental and demographic information, at high geographic resolution, across the entire country.
Language
English
Standards
| Standard | Name | ID | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logical Observation Identifiers Names and Codes (LOINC) | PhenX - environmental justice protocol 290401 | 105578-9 | LOINC |
Derived Variables
None
Process and Review
Not applicable
Protocol Name from Source
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (EJSCREEN)
Source
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2018). EJSCREEN: Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen
Demographic information that is obtained from the U.S. Census Bureau’s American Community Survey (ACS). The 2018 version of EJSCREEN includes 2012–2016 ACS 5-year summary file data, which are based on 2014 census boundaries.
General References
Cifuentes, P., Reichard, J., Im, W., Smith, S., Colen, C., Giurgescu, C., … Hood, D. B. (2019). Application of the Public Health Exposome Framework to estimate phenotypes of resilience in a model Ohio African-American women's cohort. Journal of Urban Health, 96(Suppl 1), 57–71.
Driver, A., Mehdizadeh, C., Bara-Garcia, S., Bodenreider, C., Lewis, J., & Wilson, S. (2019). Utilization of the Maryland Environmental Justice Screening Tool: A Bladensburg, Maryland case study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(3).
Rowangould, D., Rowangould, G., Craft, E., & Niemeier, D. (2018). Validating and refining EPA's traffic exposure screening measure. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(1).
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). (2019). Technical Documentation for EJSCREEN. Retrieved from https://www.epa.gov/ejscreen/technical-documentation-ejscreen
Protocol ID
290401
Variables
Export Variables| Variable Name | Variable ID | Variable Description | dbGaP Mapping | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Demographic_Indicator_Education | ||||
| PX290401030000 | Less than high school education - Percentage more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Demographic_Indicator_Linguistic_Isolation | ||||
| PX290401040000 | Linguistic isolation - Percentage of people more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Demographic_Indicator_Low_Income | ||||
| PX290401010000 | Percent low income - Percentage of a block more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Demographic_Indicator_Minority | ||||
| PX290401020000 | Percent minority - Percentage of individuals more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Demographic_Indicator_Senior | ||||
| PX290401060000 | Individuals older than age 64 - Percentage more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Demographic_Indicator_Toddler | ||||
| PX290401050000 | Individuals younger than age 5 - Percentage more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Diesel | ||||
| PX290401090000 | National Scale Air Toxics Assessment Diesel more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Lead_Paint_Indicator | ||||
| PX290401120000 | Lead Paint Indicator | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Ozone | ||||
| PX290401110000 | Ozone | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Particulate_Matter | ||||
| PX290401100000 | Particulate Matter (PM2.5) | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Priorities_List_Sites | ||||
| PX290401160000 | Proximity to National Priorities List Sites | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Respiratory_Hazard_Index | ||||
| PX290401080000 | National Scale Air Toxics Assessment more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Risk_Management | ||||
| PX290401140000 | Proximity to Risk Management Plan Sites | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Toxics_Cancer_Risk | ||||
| PX290401070000 | National Scale Air Toxics Assessment Air more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Traffic_Proximity_Volume | ||||
| PX290401130000 | Traffic Proximity and Volume | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Treatment_Storage | ||||
| PX290401150000 | Proximity to Treatment Storage and Disposal more | N/A | ||
| PX290401_Environmental_Justice_Indicator_Water_Dischargers | ||||
| PX290401170000 | Proximity to Major Direct Water Dischargers | N/A | ||
Measure Name
Environmental Justice
Release Date
May 11, 2020
Definition
The Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (EJSCREEN) is created using nationwide constant data and an approach that combines environmental and demographic indicators in maps and reports.
Purpose
The Environmental Justice Screening and Mapping Tool (EJSCREEN) allows users to access environmental and demographic information for locations in the United States at the census block level. Users can compare selected locations with the rest of the state, Environmental Protection Agency region, or the nation.
EJSCREEN can help highlight geographic areas and the extent to which these areas may be candidates for further review, including additional consideration, analysis, or outreach. The tools also allow users to explore locations at a detailed geographic level, across broad areas, or across the entire nation.
Keywords
EJSCREEN, Environmental Justice, Mapping Tool, screening, Social Determinants of Health, Environmental Protection Agency, EPA, U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, ACS, environmental health disparities
Measure Protocols
| Protocol ID | Protocol Name |
|---|---|
| 290401 | Environmental Justice |
Publications
Burnett-Bowie, S. A. M., et al. (2024) The American Society for Bone and Mineral Research Task Force on clinical algorithms for fracture risk report. Journal of Bone and Mineral Research. 2024 May; 39(5): 517-530. doi: 10.1093/jbmr/zjae048
Bartholomew, T. S., et al. (2024) Project CHARIOT: study protocol for a hybrid type 1 effectiveness-implementation study of comprehensive tele-harm reduction for engagement of people who inject drugs in HIV prevention services Addiction Science & Clinical Practice. 2024 March; 19(1). doi: 10.1186/s13722-024-00447-9