Contact: Jennifer McNulty (831) 459-2495; jmcnulty@cats.ucsc.edu
TRACKING THE PATH OF TOXICS THROUGH SILICON VALLEY
UC Santa Cruz sociologist uses sophisticated computer-generated maps to document the disproportionate impact on Latinos and the poor
* This press release is embargoed until Sunday, August 23, 1998, at 6 p.m. Andrew Szasz is presenting his findings at the annual meeting of the American Sociological Association, which is being held at the San Francisco Hilton and Towers. *
SAN FRANCISCO--New computer-generated maps of Santa Clara County reveal that toxic emissions are concentrated in a narrow band that parallels major transportation corridors--neighborhoods that tend to be poorer and more Latino than the rest of the county.
Andrew Szasz, an associate professor of sociology at the University of California, Santa Cruz, has used Census data and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) records to tell the story of environmental inequality that lies beneath Silicon Valley's booming electronics industry. A leading researcher in the field of environmental justice, Szasz has documented changes from 1960 to 1990 in the racial makeup and median income levels of neighborhoods, and he uses the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) to track the presence of toxic materials.
Many of the hazardous chemicals used in computer chip manufacturing are included in the TRI list of toxic substances. In Santa Clara County, about 10 percent of TRI materials are emitted directly into the air; the bulk--nearly 75 percent in 1990--are shipped off-site to treatment and disposal facilities, according to Szasz.
Researchers agree that addressing the problem of environmental inequality requires understanding the processes that occur over time to create unequal exposure to environmental risks. That, in turn, requires going beyond documenting inequities at a single moment in time and doing local histories. Szasz's profile of Santa Clara County is one of less than 10 such studies. Unlike most of the others, which have typically focused on older industrial, "rust-belt," cities, Szasz's work examines a community where more recent, "high-technology," industrialization occurred.
The rapid transformation of Santa Clara County from a productive agricultural region to a major electronics manufacturing center made it ripe for study, said Szasz. Now, with compelling evidence of environmental inequality in the region, Szasz says the question is what to do to protect people from being systematically victimized because of their race and income level.
Editor's Note: Szasz and Ph.D. candidate Michael Meuser will discuss this work during Thematic Session 415 of the ASA meeting on Monday, August 24, 2:30 p.m. Their talk is entitled, "Incorporating Spatial, Temporal and Demographic Factors into Environmental Justice Research."
Szasz may be reached at his UCSC office at (831) 459-2543 or via e-mail at szasz@cats.ucsc.edu.
Project maps and findings are posted on the following Web site:
This release is also available on the World Wide Web at UCSC's "Services for Journalists" site (http://www.ucsc.edu/news/journalist/).
Jennifer McNulty Public Information Representative University of California, Santa Cruz Santa Cruz, CA 95064 (831) 459-4399 fax: (831) 459-5795 jmcnulty@cats.ucsc.edu
Press Releases Home | Search Press Releases | Press Release Archive | Services for Journalists
Maintained by:pioweb@cats.ucsc.edu