UC Merced

Communities of color and lower income are disproportionately exposed to higherlevels of environmental hazards leading to adverse health outcomes and social inequalities and thus establishing a pattern of environmental injustice. Lead poisoning is an environmental justice issue affecting the most vulnerable population of children and it varies among the U.S. populations that experienced this problem. Yet, Children’s lead poisoning is understudied in sociological studies and is often reserved for investigations in epidemiological studies at the individual level and within limited areas and neighborhoods. In this paper, I bridge the literatures on environmental justice and the social determinants of lead exposure to highlight the significance of social inequalities impacting health and environmental inequalities at the county level. I use data cycles of 2012-2017 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Community Survey of the US Census to assess the social inequalities of lead poisoning across U.S. counties. Results of a multilevel analysis of over 2,100 counties nationwide demonstrate that counties characterized by higher Black and Latinx populations, lower median income, higher female-headed household populations, older housing, and lower socioeconomic positions are at higher risk of childhood lead poisoning. My results reveal variations across U.S. regions, that are detailed using additive and interactional models. These findings reveal social-spatial patterns of social inequalities driving environmental health injustices in childhood lead poisoning.