Toward Environmental Justice -- Copyright -- REVIEWERS -- Preface -- Contents -- 1 Introduction and Executive Summary -- CONCEPTS AND DEFINITIONS -- THE COMMITTEE'S ORIGIN AND TASK -- The Committee's Task -- The Data and Site Visits -- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS -- Research -- Education -- Health Policy -- ORGANIZATION OF THE REPORT -- 2 Establishing a Baseline -- DISPARITIES IN HEALTH STATUS IN THE UNITED STATES -- Low Birth Weight -- Infant Mortality -- Death Rates -- Cancer -- DISPARITIES IN EXPOSURE TO ENVIRONMENTAL HAZARDS -- Examining Proximity to Environmental Health Hazards -- Characterizing Exposure -- EXAMINING THE LINK BETWEEN EXPOSURE AND HEALTH -- Lack of Health Status Characterization -- Failure of Differentiation of Populations and Differences in Outcomes -- A Case Study: Urban Asthma -- CONCLUSIONS -- 3 Research -- RESEARCH METHODOLOGIES -- Documenting Excessive Exposures -- Toxic Chemical Release Inventory -- Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program -- Assessing Susceptibility to Environmental Hazards -- Measuring the Health Effects of Exposure to Environmental Health Hazards -- Multiplicity of Hazards -- Multiplicity of Potential Determinants -- Biomarkers -- Biomarkers of Exposure -- Biomarkers of Susceptibility -- Biomarkers of Effect -- Limitations and Potential of Biomarkers in Environmental Health Risk Assessment -- RESEARCH CHALLENGES -- Improving Epidemiologic Studies -- Addressing Race -- Participatory Research -- Challenges of Participatory Research -- Enhancing Support for Research -- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS -- Strategies for Improving the Science Base -- Strategies for Involving the Affected Populations -- Strategy for Communicating with Stakeholders -- 4 Education -- HEALTH PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION -- Enhancing Health Professional Education -- Medical Education -- Public Health Education.

Nursing and Allied Health Sciences -- Increasing the Number of Minority Health Professionals -- EDUCATION OF THE PUBLIC -- Educating Children -- Community Leadership -- Conducting Participatory Research -- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS -- Strategies for Enhancing Health Professionals' Knowledge of Environmental Health and Justice Issues -- Strategies for Increasing the Number of Health Professionals Specializing in Environmental and Occupational Medicine -- Strategies for Community and Public Education -- 5 Health Policy -- CURRENT SCIENCE BASE FOR ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE -- EXPANDING THE POLICY PROCESS -- CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS -- References -- Appendixes -- A Using Disease-Cluster and Small-Area Analyses to Study Environmental Justice -- Health-Effects Studies -- Barriers to Epidemiologic Studies -- Data Availability -- Sample Size -- Preepidemiology -- Types of Preepidemiologic Methods -- Limitations of Preepidemiology -- Appropriate Uses of Preepidemiology -- Statistical Approaches to Preepidemiology -- Disease-Cluster Investigation Practices -- Choosing the Right Statistical Analysis Method -- What Type of Clustering is Being Investigated? -- What is the Null Hypothesis? -- What is the Alternative Hypothesis? -- What Type of Summary Statistic is Used? -- Which Method is Most Appropriate for the Cluster Under Investigation? -- How Should the Statistical Significance of an Analysis be Interpreted? -- Research Needs -- Bibliography -- B Acknowledgments -- C Acronyms -- D Executive Order 12898: Federal Actions to Address Environmental Justice in Minority Populations and Low-Income Population -- E Committee and Staff Biographies -- Committee Biographies -- Institute of Medicine Staff -- Index.