AIRPORT POLLUTION: LAX &

HAWTHORNE MUNICIPALA case of environmental injustice?

By: Ghaleb AttracheUP M206A

Midterm – winter 2011

Airport Pollution

Consists of pollutant emissions from aircrafts, ground vehicles, facilities, operations that support aviation, and ground transportation (cars, buses) to/from airport.

In addition to toxic pollutants, includes noise pollution.Increases risk of health complications (asthma,

hypertension, cardiovascular disease, various types of cancers, etc. + birth/reproductive problems)

Project Questions

Is there an increased health risk from living nearby airports?

What is the racial/ethnic composition of the area surrounding the two airports?

What percent of the population around the airports live below the poverty threshold?

For future studies…

How densely populated are the areas surrounding the airports?

Compare pollution and health risks near LAX to other major U.S. airports (ATL, CHI, NYC, etc.)

How much pollution comes from aircrafts and how much comes from airport operations and other nearby sources?

Skills Used INSET MAP (slides 4, 5, 7 & 9)

Of California and LA County GEOPROCESSING (slides 4-9)

Clipping LA Tracts to CA coastline & Clipping US Airports to LA County

CREATING AN INDEX (slide 6)Hazard Index created by combining cancer/respiratory

risk IMAGE (slide 8) BUFFERING

0.75 mi buffer around main flight paths to/from LAX AGGREGATING ATTRIBUTE FIELDS (slide 9)

Aggregating races to create “minorities”