CDC and ATSDR Launch Environmental Justice Index (EJI)
- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services'...
- The EJI provides a single rank for each community to identify and map areas that are most at risk for the health impacts of environmental burden.
- The EJI ranks every census tract—which are subdivisions of counties used for statistical data collection—based on 36 different environmental, social, and health factors.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR), in partnership with the Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of Environmental Justice, have released the Environmental Justice Index (EJI). This national, place-based tool is designed to measure the cumulative impacts of environmental burdens through the lens of human health and health equity.
The EJI provides a single rank for each community to identify and map areas that are most at risk for the health impacts of environmental burden. By analyzing these risks, the tool aims to highlight the intersection of health equity and environmental justice, focusing on social and physical factors that serve as underlying determinants of health.
How the Environmental Justice Index Works
The EJI ranks every census tract—which are subdivisions of counties used for statistical data collection—based on 36 different environmental, social, and health factors. These factors are organized into ten different domains and three overarching modules.
To determine these rankings, the tool integrates data from several federal agencies and organizations, including:
- U.S. Census Bureau
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
- U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration
- U.S. Geological Survey
- U.S. Department of Transportation
- U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)
- OpenStreetMap
The objective of the index is to ensure that all people, regardless of disability, race, color, national origin, Tribal affiliation, or income, receive just treatment and meaningful involvement in federal activities and agency decision-making that affect the environment and human health.
2024 Updates and Climate Integration
On December 3, 2024, an update to the Environmental Justice Index was released. This update incorporated community engagement feedback and introduced a new Climate Burden Module.
The 2024 update features an EJI + Climate Burden rank, which integrates data on population health, socioeconomic inequality, environmental hazards, and climate risks. This addition provides actionable data regarding the threats climate change poses to community health.
Further enhancements in the December 2024 update include:
- Updated data for all indicators.
- The release of updated Technical Documentation and a change log.
- An updated interactive mapping interface that allows users to compare community ranks and create reports.
- New resources, including downloadable EJI County Maps and the EJI 2022 Community Engagement Report.
Public Health Implications
The EJI is intended to protect populations from disproportionate and adverse environmental and human health effects. This includes risks related to the legacy of structural or systemic barriers, racism, and the cumulative impacts of other burdens.
By mapping these risks, the tool seeks to support a goal where people have equitable access to a resilient, sustainable, and healthy environment for working, learning, growing, playing, living, and engaging in cultural or subsistence practices.
The tool serves as a mechanism to address determinants of health in the pursuit of health equity, providing a geospatial framework to identify where environmental burdens most severely impact human health.