Environmental Inequality in Estimated Cancer Risk from Airborne Toxic Exposure across United States Communities from 2011 to 2019.

US Census Bureau data were matched to U.S. Environmental Protection Agency estimated cancer risks from airborne toxics from 2011 to 2019 to explore environmental inequality with nationwide census tract resolution. Spearman correlations showed modest associations between various socioeconomic status factors and estimated cancer risk. Multiple linear regression analyses show positive associations with increased estimated cancer risk ( p < 0.05) for high proportions of Blacks in suburban and rural areas. A positive relationship with estimated cancer risk was found for increasing proportions of Asians and Hispanics in nonurban areas. Urban tracts that suffer from the highest estimated cancer risks were concentrated among the communities with a population of higher proportion of minorities. While environmental inequality seems to have improved across the examined years for certain demographics with respect to estimated cancer risk from air toxics, equity is far from achieved, and future work in identifying the sources of environmental inequality could help in achieving a more just environment.