Environmental Injustice in Massachusetts

Abstract

The Coronavirus pandemic has cast a new light on the intersection of environmental justice and public health, as communities of color and low-income communities have experienced greater rates of infection and mortality due to the Covid-19 pandemic. These inequalities can be attributed to a multitude of injustices. I investigate the impact that air pollution has had on COVID-19 incidence within Massachusetts, while also investigating other possible correlating factors. I use a regression model to consider the impact of air pollution, population density, race, income, age, and education on COVID-19 positivity rates in Massachusetts. In this study, I found that air pollution, population density, and the percentage of Hispanic population in a given community were all statistically significant in a linear regression model. Further research would be needed to investigate whether the coefficient on Hispanic population is conclusive. It is possible that the significant coefficient is picking up variables that are not included in this regression, namely the percentage of essential workers or access to healthcare.