Sociology
The consequences of exposure to developmental, neurological, and respiratory toxins for school performance: A closer look at environmental ascription in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana
Document Type
Article
Abstract
Recent research has found that greater toxic air pollution exposure is associated with decreased school performance, even after other socioeconomic and school-level factors have been taken into account. Here, we add nuance to this literature by focusing on those chemicals that adversely affect childhood development, as well as those that cause short- or long-term damage to the nervous and respiratory systems, as these should be more important predictors of poor school performance than, for example, known carcinogens. Using the highly detailed Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators geographic microdata, we are able to isolate known and suspected developmental, neurological, and respiratory toxicants. We find that these pollutants are more negatively correlated with school performance scores than broader measures of pollution. We have previously argued for the theoretical importance of looking at the ascriptive forces of race, class, and place simultaneously, and this assertion is reinforced and refined through this analysis. © 2013 Springer Science+Business Media New York.
Publication Title
Population and Environment
Publication Date
12-2013
Volume
35
Issue
2
First Page
205
Last Page
224
ISSN
0199-0039
DOI
10.1007/s11111-013-0185-9
Keywords
developmental, environmental ascription, environmental justice, Neurological, Respiratory toxins, school performance, toxic places
Repository Citation
Scharber, Helen; Lucier, Cristina; London, Bruce; Rosofsky, Anna; and Shandra, John, "The consequences of exposure to developmental, neurological, and respiratory toxins for school performance: A closer look at environmental ascription in East Baton Rouge, Louisiana" (2013). Sociology. 58.
https://commons.clarku.edu/faculty_sociology/58