Environmental Justice: Segregation, Noise Pollution and Health Disparities near the Hartsfield-Jackson Airport Area in Atlanta

Abstract

The inquiry in this paper has two parts: (1) an examination of potential disparities in exposure to airport noise pollution between Blacks (non-Hispanic) and Whites (non-Hispanic) around the Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airport (AHJA) area, and (2) a binary logistic regression analysis studying factors contributing to these disparities. The proposed model is that the difference in noise exposure measured by Net Exposure Difference score is a function of the degree of Black-White residential segregation; differences in poverty rates between Blacks and Whites; some socio-economic-demographic variables and four health indicators - noise annoyance (NA); sleep disturbance (SD); hearing impairment (HI); and cardiovascular disorder (CVD). A stratified random sampling method and telephonic survey using a 43-questions questionnaire among the adult households around the AHJA area produced 237 observations on Black and White households over a period of 2 years. Parameter estimates reveals disparities in exposure to aircraft noise exposure between the Black and White households within the 10-mile radius of the airport area indicating environmental injustice. The odds-ratios from the binary logistic regression suggests residential segregation, difference in poverty rates, race, education, as well as health conditions like hearing impairment and sleep disturbances have a statistically significant association with this disparity in noise exposure.