The Washington State Board of Health

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The Washington StateBoard of Health

• Priority Environmental Justice
• Board Sponsors
• Carl Osaki, RS, MSPH
• Joe Finkbonner, RPh, MHA
• Final Report of the Environmental Justice
  Subcommittee
• June 13, 2001
• Washington State Board of Health
• 1102 SE Quince St
• Olympia Washington 98504-7990
• [phone], Fax [phone]
• www.doh.wa.gov/sboh/

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• OverviewSubcommittee on Environmental Justice
• Carl Osaki, RS, MSPH
• Joe Finkbonner, RPh, MHA

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Definition of Environmental Justice

• Environmental Justice refers to the fair
  treatment and meaningful involvement of all
  people regardless of race, color, national
  origin, or income with respect to the
  development, implementation, and enforcement of
  environmental laws, regulations, and policies.

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Overview

• Board established environment justice as one of
  its priority issues
• Board created Subcommittee on Environmental
  Justice
• Subcommittee drafted workplan
• Subcommittee worked with the community to
  implement workplan and make recommendations

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Background work

• Establish Working Definition of EJ
• Conduct literature review
• Collect data on disease prevalence and pollution
  distribution in Washington
• Survey EJ efforts in other states and agencies
• Work with Washingtons EJ players
• Understand Washingtons EJ issues
• Collaborate with other EJ activities in the state
• Convene Interagency Workgroup on EJ

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Workplan Goals

• Raise Consciousness about EJ
• Create Clearinghouse of Information on Boards
  Website
• Draft EJ Guidelines for Agency Use

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• Framework for Understanding Environmental Justice
• Carl Osaki, RS, MPH

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Environmental Justice A public health issue

• EJ addresses problems associated with the
  disproportionate burden of pollution in
  low-income and minority communities.
• The Subcommittee was interested in the health
  effects from this disproportionate pollution
  burden
• The Subcommittee evaluated what is known about
  health status in low-income and minority
  communities and related this to what is known
  about pollution in those areas

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EJ/Public Health Analysis

• Are there health disparities in low-income and
  minority communities?
• Is there disproportionate exposure to
  environmental pollutants?
• How do patterns of disease disparity relate to
  environmental exposure disparity?

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• Are there health disparities in low-income and
  minority communities?

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Excess Burden of Disease Among Racial/Ethnic
Populations in Washington StateRate ratio is
shown for each group.
Diseases Deaths from AIDS, Asthma, Cervical
Cancer, Diabetes and Cases of Tuberculosis. (DOH
Office of Epidemiology)
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Many Factors Contribute to Health Disparities

• Environmental and Occupational Conditions
• Poverty
• Behavioral Choices
• Genetic Variability
• Nutrition
• Access to Medical Care

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• Is there disproportionate exposure to
  environmental pollutants?

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Disproportionate Exposure

• Greater number of facilities in one community
  than another
• The concentration of toxic substances coming from
  the facilities results in greater risk of
  exposure

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• How do patterns of disease disparity relate to
  environmental exposure disparity?

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Exposure and Disease

• Difficult to establish causal links
• Methods to evaluate relative contribution of
  environmental factors to health status and to
  estimate individuals risk of disease from
  exposure
• -- Epidemiology
• -- Toxicology
• Policymakers need to rely on epidemiology,
  toxicology, and community input to inform their
  decisions

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• Findings and
• Recommendations
• Carl Osaki, RS, MSPH
• Joe Finkbonner, RPh, MHA
• Janice Englehart, MPH

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The Subcommittee found

• EJ embraced by many community-based organizations
• EJ poorly understood by government and regulatory
  agencies
• Many agency staff with complaints of not knowing
  how to effectively engage the public in their
  processes
• Willingness on the part of agency staff to learn
  and be more responsive to community needs

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Subcommittee findings cont.

• Frustration in agency and community
  representatives who complain of not having access
  to one another
• Frustration in communities where many agencies
  are working
• Lack of understanding in the community about
  different agency roles

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• Recommendations

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Better Agency Coordination

• The Department of Ecology and the Department of
  Health work together to achieve more coordinated
  efforts among local, state, and federal agencies.
• Maintain and expand the interagency workgroup
• Better utilization of NEPA and SEPA
• Welcome NEJAC to Washington

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Improve Agency Capacity through Education

• Encourage staff participation in GOIA training
• Incorporate EJ and cultural competency training
  into existing training programs
• Distribute NEJACs Model Plan for Public
  Participation
• Collaborate with federal EJ efforts

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Adopt EJ Guidelines

• Ensure community participation in finalizing
  guidelines
• Recommend that the Board ask Governor Locke to
  consider incorporating guidelines into an
  executive order