10 Studies on Demographics Near Waste Facilities

Pursuant to a congressional request, GAO summarized various studies on the demographics of people living near hazardous waste facilities. GAO noted that: (1) none of the studies examined the changes in demographics near specific waste facilities over time, due to inadequacies in census data; (2) the studies reviewed disagreed on whether minorities and low-income people were disproportionately represented in the populations living near hazardous waste facilities; (3) the studies were limited and did not examine the extent to which people living near the facilities were exposed to harmful materials; and (4) it was difficult to generalize about the studies' conclusions, since different types of facilities were reviewed and different methodologies were used to determine racial and socioeconomic composition of these communities.