Residents' experiences during a hydrogen sulfide crisis in Carson, California.

Background: In early October 2021, thousands of residents in Carson, California began complaining of malodors and headaches. Hydrogen sulfide (HS), a noxious odorous gas, was measured at concentrations up to 7000 parts per billion (ppb) and remained above California's acute air quality standard of 30 ppb for a month. Intermittent elevations of HS continued for 3 months.

Residents' experiences during a hydrogen sulfide crisis in Carson, California.

Background: In early October 2021, thousands of residents in Carson, California began complaining of malodors and headaches. The odor was identified as hydrogen sulfide (HS), a noxious odorous gas. HS was measured at concentrations up to 7000 parts per billion (ppb) and remained above California's acute air quality standard of 30 ppb for a month, with intermittent elevations continuing for 3 months.

Examining differences in menstrual and intimate care product use by race/ethnicity and education among menstruating individuals.

Introduction: United States consumers spend over two billion dollars a year on intimate care products. These products, along with scented menstrual products, are marketed for odor control, perceived "freshness," and vaginal/vulvar cleanliness. However, these scent-altering products may increase exposure to carcinogenic and endocrine-disrupting chemicals.

Beauty Inside Out: Examining Beauty Product Use Among Diverse Women and Femme-Identifying Individuals in Northern Manhattan and South Bronx Through an Environmental Justice Framework.

The disproportionate use of chemical straighteners and skin lighteners by women of color is a growing public health concern given the link between product use and adverse health effects. Prior studies examined product use as an individual choice but neglected social-structural factors, which influence beauty perceptions and personal decisions around product use. We used a community-based participatory research approach to characterize product use by demographics and investigated how racialized beauty norms impact use among 297 women and femme-identifying individuals in Northern Manhattan and the South Bronx.

Evaluating Neighborhood-Level Differences in Hair Product Safety by Environmental Working Group Ratings among Retailers in Boston, Massachusetts.

Background: Personal care products are a notable source of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs). Racial/ethnic differences in the use of hair products containing EDCs are reported, with women and children of color more commonly using hair products that are hormonally active and contain EDCs than other racial/ethnic groups. There is limited research examining the neighborhood-level social and economic factors that may contribute to these reported disparities.

Cardiovascular health and proximity to urban oil drilling in Los Angeles, California.

Background: Although ~18 million people live within a mile from active oil and gas development (OGD) sites in the United States, epidemiological research on how OGD affects the health of nearby urban residents is sparse. Thousands of OGD sites are spread across Los Angeles (LA) County, California, home to the largest urban oil production in the country. Air pollution and noise from OGD may contribute to cardiovascular morbidity.

Social and Environmental Stressors of Urban Oil and Gas Facilities in Los Angeles County, California, 2020.

To examine patterns of cumulative environmental injustice with respect to operations of urban oil and gas development in Los Angeles County, California. Using CalEnviroScreen (CES) 4.0, oil and gas data permit records, and US census data, we examined the association between CES score (grouped into equal quintiles, with the lowest representing low cumulative burden) and oil and gas development (presence or absence of an oil and gas production well) within 1 kilometer of a census block centroid.

A science-based agenda for health-protective chemical assessments and decisions: overview and consensus statement.

The manufacture and production of industrial chemicals continues to increase, with hundreds of thousands of chemicals and chemical mixtures used worldwide, leading to widespread population exposures and resultant health impacts. Low-wealth communities and communities of color often bear disproportionate burdens of exposure and impact; all compounded by regulatory delays to the detriment of public health. Multiple authoritative bodies and scientific consensus groups have called for actions to prevent harmful exposures via improved policy approaches.

Addressing systemic problems with exposure assessments to protect the public's health.

Background: Understanding, characterizing, and quantifying human exposures to environmental chemicals is critical to protect public health. Exposure assessments are key to determining risks to the general population and for specific subpopulations given that exposures differ between groups. Exposure data are also important for understanding where interventions, including public policies, should be targeted and the extent to which interventions have been successful.

Mobile daily diaries to characterize stressors and acute health symptoms in an environmental justice neighborhood.

Low-income communities and communities of color face multiple, cumulative environmental and social burdens. Methods development in environmental justice research has largely focused on spatial and quantitative approaches. Less attention has been paid to developing methodologies that help collect information on everyday stressors and quality of life experiences for residents in overburdened communities.

Personal care product use among diverse women in California: Taking Stock Study.

Background: Personal care product use may contribute to elevated body burdens of consumer product chemicals among women of color; however, racial/ethnic differences in product use has been understudied. Community-engaged research can support the recruitment of diverse participants.

Objective: To document personal care product use among a diverse group of women (aged 18-34 years) living in California.

Respiratory health, pulmonary function and local engagement in urban communities near oil development.

Background: Modern oil development frequently occurs in close proximity to human populations. Los Angeles, California is home to the largest urban oil field in the country with thousands of active oil and gas wells in very close proximity to homes, schools and parks, yet few studies have investigated potential health impacts. The neighborhoods along the Las Cienagas oil fields are situated in South LA, densely populated by predominantly low-income Black and Latinx families, many of whom are primarily Spanish-speakers.

Distance decay gradients in hazardous air pollution concentrations around oil and natural gas facilities in the city of Los Angeles: A pilot study.

In this work, we investigate air pollutant distance decay gradients around an upstream oil and natural gas (ONG) facility located within a densely populated urban community in South Los Angeles. Despite the difficulties associated with interpreting air quality measurements in complex, multi-source urban environments, this pilot investigation was able to identify distance decay around the target ONG site and distinguish added air quality burden of several volatile organic compounds associated with ONG operations. Moving forward, we recommend additional research to better distinguish air quality contributions from ONG in urban environments.

Community-Based Health and Exposure Study around Urban Oil Developments in South Los Angeles.

Oilfield-adjacent communities often report symptoms such as headaches and/or asthma. Yet, little data exists on health experiences and exposures in urban environments with oil and gas development. In partnership with (community health workers), we gathered household surveys nearby two oil production sites in Los Angeles.

The environmental injustice of beauty: framing chemical exposures from beauty products as a health disparities concern.

The obstetrics-gynecology community has issued a call to action to prevent toxic environmental chemical exposures and their threats to healthy human reproduction. Recent committee opinions recognize that vulnerable and underserved women may be impacted disproportionately by environmental chemical exposures and recommend that reproductive health professionals champion policies that secure environmental justice. Beauty product use is an understudied source of environmental chemical exposures.

Understanding the cumulative impacts of inequalities in environmental health: implications for policy.

Racial or ethnic minority groups and low-income communities have poorer health outcomes than others. They are more frequently exposed to multiple environmental hazards and social stressors, including poverty, poor housing quality, and social inequality. Researchers are grappling with how best to characterize the cumulative effects of these hazards and stressors in order to help regulators and decision makers craft more-effective policies to address health and environmental disparities.

An index for assessing demographic inequalities in cumulative environmental hazards with application to Los Angeles, California.

Researchers in environmental justice contend that low-income communities and communities of color face greater impacts from environmental hazards. This is also of concern for policy makers. In this context, our paper has two principal objectives.

Financial ties and conflicts of interest between pharmaceutical and tobacco companies.

Corporate diversification allows for well-hidden financial ties between pharmaceutical and tobacco companies, which can cause a conflict of interest in the development and marketing of pharmaceutical products. In our investigation of tobacco company documents released and posted on the Internet as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement, we have found that these financial ties have fostered both competition and collaboration between the tobacco and pharmaceutical industries. We present 3 case studies.