Abtract

Background: Environmental inequality leads to systematic health disparities among individuals and groups, yet the specific impacts on health in the US remain poorly recognized, despite compelling evidence linking to living conditions and health outcomes. Additionally, the excess of industrialized and contaminated sites poses a significant threat to green zones and areas with quality living conditions, persistently contaminating existing water sources.
Objective: Drinking water contaminated with per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) poses an overwhelming yet significant public health concern, particularly in racial disparities and neighborhood’s socioeconomic status. The impact of these changes on the health of marginalized residents' living conditions due to historical environmental injustices is complex and exacerbates the widening gap in promoting equality and justice.
Design/Methods: Our focus is on researching health disparities related to PFAS exposures in drinking water, aiming to enhance accessibility to public sites and merge with innovative programs like EJScreen, CDC EJI, and ToxPI. We use data from these mapping tools to calculate and rank ToxPI scores of PFAS contamination levels in Pennsylvania waters.
Results: Not only demonstrating clusters of health outcomes in the area with high contamination levels of PFAS, but the study also continues to investigate correlations between high PFAS contamination and community health in historically redlined areas, particularly among low-income, Black, Indigenous, and people of color communities.Conclusion: By centering health and environmental inequality, we aim to raise awareness of PFAS chemicals' impact, bridge the gap between public and health science through public-facing communication and material, and advocate for policies prioritizing environmental justice and public health.