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An applied environmental justice framework for exposure science

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 33, pages 1–11 (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

On the 30th anniversary of the Principles of Environmental Justice established at the First National People of Color Environmental Leadership Summit in 1991 (Principles of Environmental Justice), we continue to call for these principles to be more widely adopted. We propose an environmental justice framework for exposure science to be implemented by all researchers. This framework should be the standard and not an afterthought or trend dismissed by those who believe that science should not be politicized. Most notably, this framework should be centered on the community it seeks to serve. Researchers should meet with community members and stakeholders to learn more about the community, involve them in the research process, collectively determine the environmental exposure issues of highest concern for the community, and develop sustainable interventions and implementation strategies to address them. Incorporating community “funds of knowledge” will also inform the study design by incorporating the knowledge about the issue that community members have based on their lived experiences. Institutional and funding agency funds should also be directed to supporting community needs both during the “active” research phase and at the conclusion of the research, such as mechanisms for dissemination, capacity building, and engagement with policymakers. This multidirectional framework for exposure science will increase the sustainability of the research and its impact for long-term success.

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Fig. 1: Roadmap for redefining exposure science strategies.
Fig. 2: Dissemination of research.

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Acknowledgements

We acknowledge that we reside on the stolen land of Indigenous People and we acknowledge the struggles of our ancestors who came before us. Moving forward we encourage that a portion of honorarium fees received for speaking on topics belonging to the community should be re-invested in programs that promote equitable health initiatives. The following scientists contributed to this framework: Sa Liu, Jon Levy, Pallavi Pant, Ryan G. Sinclair.

Funding

YOVH is supported by a Diversity Supplement through the National Institutes of Health under R01ES029598-03S1. CSA is supported by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institutes of Health under T32HD049311. LQA is supported in part by a NHLBI Career Development Award (K01HL138124). PIB is supported by the National Institutes of Health under P30ES006694. JEJ is supported by the National Institutes of Health under P30ES006694. MG is supported by NIH/NIEHS P50ES026102, NIH/NIEHS P42 ES025589, USEPA #83615701. The publication’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health, or the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Author information

Author notes

  1. These authors contributed equally: Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne, Cecilia S. Alcala.

  2. These authors jointly supervised this work: Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá, Paloma I. Beamer

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Population and Public Health Sciences, Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, 2001 N. Soto Street, Los Angeles, CA, 90032, USA

    Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne & Jill E. Johnston

  2. Department of Environmental Medicine and Public Health, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, 17 East 102 Street, New York, NY, 10029, USA

    Cecilia S. Alcala

  3. School of Public Health & Health Sciences, University of Massachusetts Amherst, 686 North Pleasant Street, Room 175, Amherst, MA, 01003, USA

    Richard E. Peltier

  4. School of Public Health, San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Dr., San Diego, CA, 92182, USA

    Penelope J. E. Quintana

  5. Department of Environmental & Occupational Health Sciences, School of Public Health, University of Washington, Roosevelt One Building, 4225 Roosevelt Way NE, Suite 100, Seattle, WA, 98195, USA

    Edmund Seto

  6. Department of Internal Medicine, University of New Mexico School of Medicine, MSC10 5550 Epidemiology, Albuquerque, NM, 87111, USA

    Melissa Gonzales

  7. Environmental Health Coalition, National City, CA, USA

    Lupita D. Montoya

  8. Department of Environmental Health and Engineering, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins University, 615N. Wolfe Street, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA

    Lesliam Quirós-Alcalá

  9. Department of Community, Environment and Policy, Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health, University of Arizona, 1295N. Martin Ave., Tucson, AZ, 85724, USA

    Paloma I. Beamer

Authors
  1. Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne
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YOVH and CSA finalized the tables, figures, and led the writing of the paper for publication. REP, PJEQ, ES, MG, JEJ, and LDM contributed to the first draft. SL, JL, PP, and RGS provided comments and suggestions to the first draft. PIB, LQA, and YOVH jointly conceptualized the idea. All authors contributed to the writing and editing of the paper and read and approved the final paper.

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Correspondence to Yoshira Ornelas Van Horne.

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Competing interests

YOVH, LQA, and PIB are editorial board members of JESEE. REP is deputy editor of JESEE. The other authors declare no competing interests.

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Van Horne, Y.O., Alcala, C.S., Peltier, R.E. et al. An applied environmental justice framework for exposure science. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 33, 1–11 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-022-00422-z

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41370-022-00422-z

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