Toxic release inventory sites are regulated by the EPA to ensure proper disposal and adherence to regulations regarding hazardous materials. Over time, it has been observed that industries have been failing to comply with the regulations, particularly regarding proximity to at-risk communities. Through the collection of TRI site location, Ohio K-12 schools, census tracts, and median income data we were able to run spatial analysis to begin to formulate answers to our research questions. A one-mile buffer radius surrounding the TRI sites was utilized to determine the schools within the contaminated zones, from this analysis we were then able to create choropleth maps to signify the concentration of impacted schools, students, and school-age children within each census tract. The income data was then utilized to analyze potential patterns of repeated profiling of a particular socio-economic class. The primary goals were to determine the number of exposed K-12 schools in Ohio and to analyze the TRI site distribution to detect if there is a pattern of disproportionate TRI Site location based on the median household income of the surrounding community. The results from the analysis indicated an increased TRI exposure in lower-income neighborhoods and the majority of schools within the one-mile buffer zone are found within northern and eastern Ohio, with minimal exposure in southeastern Ohio. Overall this project will demonstrate the level of adherence by manufacturers to TRI guidelines to protect the health of the general public. Particularly, the results can be utilized to determine if an increased stringent of checks is necessary by the EPA to ensure companies are abiding by the guidelines.
Author(s): Adam Smith, Cameron Morrison, Teralyn Paro, Cori Milburn
Advisor(s): Shenyue Jia, Geography