HHS releases tool to identify environmental hazards

Editor's Note

On Wednesday August 10, the Department of Health and Human Services released the Environmental Justice Index (EJI), a tool used to identify health risks from pollution and other environmental hazards, the American Hospital Association July 10 reports. The EJI is the first national, geographic-driven tool utilized to measure environmental burden through human health and health equity.

Data from the US Census Bureau, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the US Mine Safety and Health Administration, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is used to rank the cumulative impact of environmental injustice on health for every census tract. The EJI will deliver a single score for each community so that public health officials can identify and map areas most at risk for the health impacts of environmental burden. Social factors such as poverty, race, and ethnicity, along with pre-existing health conditions, may impact the score.

For more information on the terminology and data usage behind the EJI tool, access the Fact Sheet here.