Visualize inequity in toxic exposure risk

In the late 1970s, people in the United States turned their attention toward the toxic chemicals in their environments. Several toxic exposure incidents were widely broadcast across the nation and galvanized new standards for monitoring and regulating the discharge of toxic chemicals into the environment, leading researchers to investigate the correlation between exposure and people's health. Today, promoting thoughtful urban planning and waste management that minimizes exposure to toxic chemicals is still an urgent concern and is listed as an indicator for progress toward a sustainable city under the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. In many communities, historic and current land-use policies have resulted in a disproportionate exposure risk on communities of color. In West Virginia, there are examples of how local chemical manufacturing plants have adversely impacted nearby communities of color.

In this tutorial, as an environmental justice analyst, you'll look at toxic chemical release exposure risk to different population subgroups from facilities in the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory and assess environmental equity in Kanawha County, West Virginia, where the city of Charleston is located. You will map the results by political districts, which will allow community members to contact their representatives for direct action on the polluting facilities in their district.

This tutorial was last tested on December 20, 2023.

View final result

Requirements

• ArcGIS organizational account with a Publisher, Facilitator, or Administrator role in an ArcGIS organization (see options for software access)

Prepare data for analysis

First, you will add, explore, and prepare the data you will use to conduct the environmental equity analysis. The data will include toxic release information from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and socioeconomic and demographic data from the United States Census Bureau.

In 1986, the EPA created the Emergency Planning and Community Right-to-Know Act, which informs residents of industrial hazards in their area. This data is made available through the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory (TRI), an annual self-reporting database. Self-reporting means the facility operators are responsible for tracking and providing data to the TRI on the type and amount of toxic chemicals their facility released each year.

Map toxic release facilities

You will start the workflow by adding toxic release facility data to your map and creating a chart to explore the reported toxic chemical releases by industry.

1. Sign in to your ArcGIS organizational account.

   Note:

   If you don't have an organizational account, see options for software access.

2. On the ribbon, click Map.

   

   A new map opens in Map Viewer.

3. In the Layers pane, click the Add button.

   

   There are several sources from which you can obtain data layers. You will search ArcGIS Online for a layer that contains toxic release data for Kanawha County.

4. In the Add layer pane, click My Content and choose ArcGIS Online.

   

5. In the search bar, type KanawhaTRI owner:Learn_ArcGIS and press Enter.
6. For the KanawhaTRI layer, click the Add button.

   

   The KanawhaTRI layer is added to your map.

   The default basemap contains a lot of different colors and symbology. You will update the basemap to a more minimal design so you can focus on the data you want to analyze.

7. At the top of the Add layer pane, click the back arrow.

   

8. On the Contents (dark) toolbar, click Basemap. Choose Light Gray Canvas.

   

   The basemap updates.

   Now that the basemap is more minimal, you will style the toxic release facility points to tell you how many pounds of chemicals were released in the reported year.

9. On the Settings (light) toolbar, click Styles.

   

10. In the Styles pane, click Field.

    A list of the fields in the KanawhaTRI layer appears. You want to display the total number of chemicals released from the facility, so you will choose the SUM_ON_SITE_RELEASE_TOTAL field.

11. In the Add fields window, choose SUM_ON_SITE_RELEASE_TOTAL and click the Add button.

    

    The style for the KanawhaTRI layer updates, but some of the points are on top of one another, making it difficult to see all the facilities. You will adjust the style so that the circles are more transparent.

12. For Counts and Amounts (size), click Style options.

    

13. In the Style options pane, click the Symbol style.
14. In the Symbol style window, for Fill color, choose a red color. Set Fill transparency to 50.

    

15. For Outline color, choose a red color, and set Outline transparency to 0.
16. In the Style options pane, click Done twice.

    The KanawhaTRI layer is styled to show the total amount of chemicals released at each facility.

    

    Before you continue, you will save the map.

17. On the Contents toolbar, click Save and open and choose Save as.

    

18. In the Save map window, enter the following:

    • For Title, type Toxic release analysis and add your name or initials.
    • For Tags, type environment, equity, EPA, and toxic release inventory, typing a comma or pressing Tab after each tag.
    • For Summary, type Map analyzing the potential toxic exposure to populations by race and income variables near EPA Toxic Release Inventory facilities in Kanawha County, West Virginia.

    

    Note:

    You cannot create two layers in an ArcGIS organization with the same name. Adding your initials to a layer name ensures that other people in your organization can also complete this tutorial. Once a layer has been created, you can rename it in the map to remove your initials, which will not affect the name of the underlying data layer.

19. Click Save.

You have added and styled a layer showing the total toxic releases of EPA TRI facilities in Kanawha County and saved your map. In the next section, you will further explore the data you just added.

Create a chart

Next, you'll create charts to explore how toxic releases compare in different industry sectors.

1. On the Contents toolbar, click Layers. In the Layers pane, ensure the KanawhaTRI layer is selected.
2. On the Settings toolbar, click Configure charts.

   

3. In the Charts pane, click Add chart and choose Bar chart.

   

   The Data pane appears where you will configure the bar chart, and a blank preview of the chart appears where the configured chart will show. You want to visualize how much and what type of chemical releases were reported by industries.

4. In the Data pane, for Category, choose Industry. For Aggregation, choose Sum.
5. Under Numeric fields, click Select numeric fields.

   The Select fields window appears. It lists the fields in the KanawhaTRI layer. You want to see a breakdown of the different ways the chemicals were released from facilities. You will select the fields that contain the sum of each release type.

   Fugitive air releases are releases into the air that are expected, unintentional releases, such as equipment leaks and releases from ventilation and evaporation from spills. Land treatment releases include releasing TRI chemicals in farming or soil, such as fracking wastewater to water crops. Landfill releases refer to disposals that were sent to landfills. Stack air releases are releases through a confined air stream, such as stacks, ducts, and pipes. Underground releases include releasing chemicals through an injection well or other underground storage method. Water includes releasing chemicals into a body of water. Other is any other type of release that was not already covered by the previously mentioned categories.

   Note:

   To learn more about each type of chemical release, see Common TRI Terms.

6. In the Select fields window that appears, select the following fields and click Done.

   • SUM_FUGITIVE__AIR
   • SUM_LAND__TREATMENT
   • SUM_LANDFILLS
   • SUM_OTHER
   • SUM_STACK_AIR
   • SUM_UNDERGROUND
   • SUM_WATER

   

   The chart updates to show each release type as a separate bar for each industry. To make the chart clearer, you will adjust the chart to show the release types stacked so you can visualize the total chemicals released by industry.

7. Click the Series tab and for Display multiple series, choose Stacked.

   

   The bar chart displays each type of chemical release stacked by industry.

   On the Series tab, you can customize the chart's legend labels so they can be more clear to readers.

8. Under Series, click SUM_FUGITIVE__AIR. In the Series style window, for Label, type Fugitive Air.

   

9. Update the remaining labels in a similar format.

   The legend labels are readily understandable.

   

   Finally, you will update the chart and axis titles.

10. Click the General tab. For Chart title, type Chemical release method by industry in 2021. For Y-axis title, type Chemicals (lbs).

    

    You have created a chart showing the reported amount and type of chemical release from facilities in Kanawha County by industry.

    

    The chart shows that the industry that contributed the most to chemical release was the chemicals industry, with most of the release occurring by water, stack air, and fugitive air methods.

11. Close the chart.

    To access the chart again, on the Contents toolbar, click Charts, and the chart you configured is listed in the Charts pane.

    

    You will save your map before you continue with adding more data.

12. On the Contents toolbar, click Save and open and click Save to save your map.

You visualized the toxic chemical releases from the EPA's Toxics Release Inventory facilities and created a chart to discover that the chemicals industry is the primary polluter in the county. In the next module, you'll look at how potential pollution exposure risk impacts particular populations and compare that risk to the entire county population.

Add demographic data

Next, you'll add census tract layers with demographic variables into your map. You are interested in determining whether communities in the county are being disproportionately impacted by the chemical releases. As part of your equity initiatives, you want to identify where more resources and preventive policies should be implemented to reduce inequity. You will use the data from these layers to calculate the potential toxic exposure from the TRI facilities for populations by race, ethnicity, and poverty status.

1. On the Contents toolbar, click Layers. In the Layers pane, click the Add button.

   You will search ArcGIS Living Atlas of the World, a global database of maps, apps, and data provided by Esri-verified organizations, including the United States Census Bureau.

2. In the Add layer pane, click My Content and choose Living Atlas.
3. In the search bar, type acs race and press Enter.
4. For the ACS Race and Hispanic Origin Variables - Boundaries item, click the Add button.

   

   Note:

   Layers in ArcGIS Living Atlas are periodically updated. Use the most recent available layer.

   The ACS Race and Hispanic Origin Variables - Boundaries group layer is added to the map. Next, you will search for ACS data on poverty status variables and add it to the map.

5. In the search bar, delete the existing text and type acs poverty and press Enter. In the list of results, for the ACS Poverty Status Variables - Boundaries item, click the Add button.

   

6. In the Add layer pane, click the back button.

   Two group layers are added to your map.

7. In the Layers pane, expand the ACS Poverty Status Variables - Boundaries group layer.

   

   The group layer contains data at different geographic levels. The State and County layers are also in the group layer, but the layer names are in light gray, indicating that they are not visible at the map's current zoom level, or extent. You are mainly interested in the tract level data. The Tract layer includes census data for all the census tracts in the United States, but you are only interested in Kanawha County. You will use a filter so only the census tracts in your county of interest are visible.

8. In the ACS Poverty Status Variables - Boundaries group layer, click the Tract layer to select it.

   

   In the Layers pane, the blue line next to a layer name indicates that the layer is selected.

9. On the Settings toolbar, click Filter. In the Filter pane, click Add expression.

   

   You will build an expression to only display tracts in Kanawha County.

10. Click the drop-down arrow for the first field.

    

11. In the Replace field window, choose County and click Replace.

    

12. Click the third drop-down menu, and search for Kanawha County. Click Kanawha County.
13. In the Filter pane, click Save.

    The Tract layer in the ACS Poverty Status Variables - Boundaries group layer now only displays tracts that are in Kanawha County.

14. Use what you have learned to filter the Tract layer in the ACS Race and Hispanic Origin Boundary group layer.

    Tip:

    In the Layers pane, expand the ACS Race and Hispanic Origin Boundary group layer and select the Tract layer. In the Filter pane, click Add expression, build the expression County is Kanawha County, and click Save.

    You currently have two Tract layers in each of the group layers. You will edit the layer names so you can distinguish which one contains race and ethnicity data and which one contains poverty status data.

15. For the Tract layer in the Poverty Status group layer, click the Options button and click Rename.

    

16. Rename the layer Tract - Poverty.
17. Rename the Tract layer in the Race and Hispanic Origin group layer to Tract - Race.

    The layers are renamed.

    

18. Save the map.

You have added demographic data to your map. Next, you will use analysis tools in Map Viewer to prepare the data for analysis.

Use analysis tools

Spatial analysis tools allow you to quantify patterns and relationships in the data and display the results as maps, tables, and charts. Using spatial analysis tools, you can answer questions and make decisions using more than a visual analysis.

Note:

To learn more, see Perform analysis (Map Viewer).

You will use the Join Features tool to create a layer where the attributes of the Tract - Poverty and Tract - Race layers are combined.

1. On the Settings toolbar, click Analysis. In the Analysis pane, click Tools.

   

2. On the Tools tab, in the search bar, type join. In the list of results, choose the Join Features tool.

   

3. In the Join Features tool pane, under Input features, for Target layer, click Layer and choose Tract - Race. For Join layer, click Layer and choose Tract - Poverty.

   

4. Under Join Settings, set the following:
   • Turn on Use attribute relationship.
   • For Target field, choose Geographic Identifier (GEOID).
   • For Join field, choose Geographic Identifier (GEOID).

   

5. For Output name, type KanawhaTracts_Demographics and add your initials or name.

   To run analysis tools requires credits. You can check how many credits the tool will require before you run it.

6. Above the Run button, click Estimated Credits.

   To run this tool will require 0.114 credits.

   Note:

   To learn more about credits, see Understand credits.

7. Click Run.

   As the tool runs, you can click the History tab to view its progress.

8. In the Analysis pane, click the History tab.

   

   It may require a few minutes for the tool to complete. When the tool has completed, the KanawhaTracts_Demographics layer is added to your map.

   Next, you want to summarize the total amount of chemicals released in a tract. You will use the Summarize Within tool to calculate and combine this data to the KanawhaTracts_Demographics layer.

9. At the top of the Join Features tool, click the back arrow.
10. In the Tools pane, search for and choose the Summarize Within tool.

    

11. In the Summarize Within tool pane, under Features to summarize, for Input features, choose KanawhaTRI. Under Summary areas, for Summary polygon layer, choose KanawhaTracts Demographics.

    

12. Under Calculate statistics, for Field statistics, click Field and choose SUM_ON_SITE_RELEASE_TOTAL. Ensure the Sum statistic is selected.

    

13. Under Result layer, for Output name, type Kanawha Equity Analysis. Click Run.

    Note:

    To run this tool will require 0.073 credits.

    The Kanawha Equity Analysis layer is added to your map.

14. In the Layers pane, for the Kanawha Equity Analysis layer, click the Options button and choose Show table.

    

    A field with the total amount of on-site releases was calculated and added for the census tracts where the facilities are located. The layer already contains the fields from the ACS poverty and race and ethnicity layers, so you now have all the data you need for analysis.

    

15. Close the table and save the map.

Style the map by demographic data

You will style your map to show the percent of the Black population by census tracts in the county. You no longer need the group layers so you will remove them.

1. In the Layers pane, for the ACS Poverty group layer, click the Options button and click Remove.
2. Remove the ACS Race and Hispanic origin group layer.

   To prepare for a racial equity analysis, you will style the county tracts by predominant race and ethnicity.

   Note:

   For brevity, this tutorial will only walk through calculations for the two predominant racial groups in Kanawha County. However, it is a best practice to include all racial and ethnic groups and intersections of identity in any given geography. You are encouraged to add more racial and ethnic groups on your own.

3. In the Layers pane, for the KanawhaTRI layer, click the visibility button.
4. In the Layers pane, ensure the KanawhaTracts_Demographics layer is selected. On the Settings toolbar, click Styles.
5. In the Styles pane, click the Field button.
6. In the Add fields window, on the search bar, type percent and press Enter. Check the Percent of Population that is Black or African American Alone, Not Hispanic or Latino field and click Add.

   

7. Under Pick a style, for Counts and Amounts (color), click Style options.
8. In the Style options pane, click the Symbol style. In the Symbol style window, click Fill color.

   

9. In the Ramp window, choose the Blue 9 color ramp and click Done.

   Tip:

   To see the name of a color ramp, point to the ramp.

   

10. In the Style options pane, click Done twice.

    

11. Save the map.

You have used analysis tools to prepare a layer that contains all the data you will need to visualize and analyze environmental equity in toxic release exposure for different populations.

Calculate toxic burden risk by race and income

Toxic burden is the amount of toxins in a person's body from chemicals that come from food, air, water, and other external factors. According to the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, residential proximity to TRI sites has been linked to higher rates of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases such as COPD and increased risk for certain kinds of cancer.

Additionally, due to historical and ongoing racial residential segregation, race-related income inequality, and other forms of institutional and systemic racism, communities of color are disproportionately located closer to contamination sites. Such communities often have limited opportunities to advocate against unwanted land uses or influence environmental decision-making. This highlights the importance of equity-based approaches to identify inequities in toxic exposure for communities of color.

To calculate toxic burden risk for different population subgroups, you will calculate and compare the proportion of toxic burden risk for each group and compare it to the toxic burden risk for the whole county. If this ratio is equal to 1, that means the subgroup experiences the same level of toxic burden risk as everyone in the county, and there is equity. But if the ratio is greater than 1, that indicates the subgroup is experiencing a greater toxic burden risk than the rest of the county population.

Calculate toxic burden risk using Arcade

To calculate toxic burden risk, you will multiply the population in each tract by the amount of chemicals released in that tract. Divide that result by the total population and you will have the toxic burden risk for that tract. You will repeat this process for subpopulations in each tract based on income and race, but first, you will determine the total number of people in the county by viewing the layer's attribute table.

1. In the Layers pane, for the Kanawha Equity Analysis layer, click the Options button and click Show table.
2. In the table, scroll to the Total Population field.

   Tip:

   To see the full name of a field, point to the field name.

   

3. For the Total Population field, click the Options button and click Information.

   

   An information window appears for the field.

4. Under the Statistics section, take note of the Sum of values statistic.

   

5. Use what you have learned to determine the sum of values for the following fields:
   • White alone, not Hispanic or Latino Population
   • Black or African American, not Hispanic or Latino Population
   • Population whose income in the past 12 months is below federal poverty level

   The sum of values for these fields are the following:

   Field name	Sum of values
   Total Populations	179,895
   White alone, not Hispanic or Latino Population	156,088
   Black or African American, not Hispanic or Latino Population	11,860
   Population whose income in the past 12 months is below federal poverty level	29,058

   Now that you have the sum of values for each of the population groups, you will use ArcGIS Arcade to calculate the toxic burden risk proportions.

6. In the Styles pane, under Choose attributes, remove the current field.

   

7. Click the Expression button.

   

   The expression window appears. You will use Arcade to create a custom attribute expression for styling your analysis layer.

   Arcade is a portable, lightweight, and secure expression language used to create custom content in ArcGIS applications.

   To calculate the toxic burden risk for the total population in the county, for each tract with chemicals released, you will multiply the population by the amount of chemicals released and divide this result by the total population. The result will be the proportion of chemical exposure for the total tract population.

   

8. In the expression window, delete the existing text and type var TotalTB =.

   This code will define the variable TotalTB, which will represent the toxic burden risk for the total population in this tract.

9. Click the Profile variables tab and click the arrow for $feature.

   

10. In the search bar, type release. Under Values, click the Sum SUM_ON_SITE_RELEASE_TOTAL variable.

    The variable for the total amount of chemicals released adds to the expression.

    

11. Type a multiplication sign (*), and in the Profile variables pane, search for and choose Total Population.

    The expression now reads:

    var TotalTB = $feature.sum_SUM_ON_SITE_RELEASE_TOTAL * $feature.B03002_001E

12. Add parentheses around the multiplication formula, and at the end of the line, type /179895.

    The 179,895 value is the total population you made note of from the table for sum of values.

    The complete expression reads:

    var TotalTB = ($feature.sum_SUM_ON_SITE_RELEASE_TOTAL * $feature.B03002_001E) / 179895

    The TotalTB variable is defined. Next, you will define the proportion of toxic burden risk for the Black population.

    

13. Use what you learned to build the expression or copy and paste the following to a new line in the expression:

    var BlackTB = ($feature.sum_SUM_ON_SITE_RELEASE_TOTAL * $feature.B03002_004E) / 11860

    Finally, to compare the toxic burden risk between the Black population and the total population, you will calculate a ratio. You will divide the proportion of toxic burden risk for the Black population by the toxic burden risk for the total population. If the ratio is 0, that means there is complete equality, and the Black population is experiencing the same level of burden as the total population. If the ratio is greater than 1, it indicates that the Black population has a greater toxic burden risk than the total population. If the ratio is less than 1, that means there is less burden on the Black population.

    

14. At the end of the expression, copy and paste the following expression: BlackTB/TotalTB.

    

15. At the top of the expression window, click New expression and type Black toxic burden risk .

    You will also add some text in the expression title so that some interpretation text will appear in the legend.

16. After the word risk, type a semicolon and type or copy and paste >1 = Risk for Black population > county population, and press Tab.

    

17. Click Done.

    The map updates to show the ratio values for each tract with a facility.

Style toxic burden risk

You will style the layer to show which tracts have a ratio value above 1, indicating a greater toxic burden risk on the Black population compared to the total population.

1. In the Styles pane, under Pick a style click Color and Size. For Color and Size, set Theme to Above and below, and click Style options.

   

2. In the Style options pane, set the following:
   • For Symbol pair, choose Circles with arrows.
   • Click the Flip color ramp button so the red color indicates a higher value.
   • In the histogram, set the middle handle to 1.0.
   • For Size range, set the lower range to 15 and the upper range to 45.

   

   By setting the middle handle of the histogram to 1, you can visualize all the red colored circles indicate higher burden on the Black community. The larger the circle, the greater the burden on the Black community. Adjusting the Size range parameters helps make the smallest circles more visible.

3. Click Done twice.

   

   The map shows one census tract with a very high rate of chemical release relative to the Black population (6 times higher risk). It is a tract with a higher proportion of the Black population and the tract with the most chemical release.

4. In the Style options pane, click Done twice.
5. Save the map.

Continue calculating toxic burden risk

Now that you have calculated the toxic burden risk for the Black population in Kanawha County, you will do the same for the White population and the population that experienced poverty in the past 12 months.

1. In the Layers pane, rename the Kanawha Equity Analysis layer to Toxic burden risk Black population.
2. For the Toxic burden risk Black population layer, click the Options button and choose Duplicate.
3. Rename the copied layer Toxic burden risk White population.

   You will edit the style for the Toxic burden risk White population layer, so you will turn off the visibility for the Toxic burden risk Black population layer for now.

4. Turn off the visibility for the Toxic burden risk Black population layer.

   

5. Ensure the Toxic burden risk White population layer is selected, and on the Settings toolbar, click Styles.
6. In the Styles pane, click the Black toxic burden risk expression.

   

7. Add a new line after the BlackTB variable line and create a variable for calculating the toxic burden risk for the White population:

   var WhiteTB = ($feature.sum_SUM_ON_SITE_RELEASE_TOTAL * $feature.B03002_003E) / 156088

   

8. For the line BlackTB / TotalTB, replace BlackTB with WhiteTB, so the final line should read: WhiteTB / TotalTB.
9. Rename the expression title to White toxic burden risk; >1 = Risk for White population > county population.

   

10. Click Done.

    The layer style updates to the toxic burden risk for the White population compared to the total population's toxic burden risk. You will style the layer in the same style as the layer showing the toxic burden risk for the Black population.

11. In the Styles pane, for the Color and Size style, click Style options and style the layer in the same way you styled the Toxic burden risk Black population layer:
    • Click the Flip color ramp button so the red color indicates a higher value.
    • On the histogram, set the middle handle to 1.0.
    • For Size range, set the lower range to 15 and the upper range to 45.

    

    This map shows there are a few census tracts where the toxic release burden on the White population is slightly higher than the total toxic burden risk. But looking at the legend, it's a relatively much smaller amount (9% higher risk) compared to the burden you calculated earlier for the Black population.

12. Use what you have learned to create and style a layer to show the toxic burden risk on the population that had an income below the poverty line in the past 12 months.

    

    This map shows that the westernmost tract with a toxic release facility is disproportionately impacting people who were experiencing poverty in the past year.

13. Save the map.

Calculate racial disparity in toxic burden risk

In addition to calculating a ratio to compare subgroups to the total population, you can compare the toxic burden risk for subgroups to each other. For this tutorial, you will calculate the toxic burden risk ratio of the Black population to the White population.

1. In the Layers pane, duplicate the Toxic burden risk White population layer.
2. Rename the copied layer Toxic burden risk disparity.
3. In the Styles pane, click the White toxic burden risk expression.

   The expression builder window appears. It currently calculates the toxic burden risk for the White population by dividing the White toxic burden risk by the total population toxic burden risk. To determine whether there is racial disparity in toxic burden risk, you will divide the Black toxic burden risk by the White toxic burden risk.

   If the result of this ratio equals 1, that indicates there is an equal level of toxic burden risk. If the value is greater than 1, it indicates that there is a greater toxic burden risk for the Black population compared to the White population.

4. In the expression builder window, replace the line WhiteTB/TotalTB with BlackTB / WhiteTB.
5. Rename the expression title Black to White toxic burden risk ratio; Population in poverty toxic burden risk; >1 = Risk for Black population > White population, and press Tab.
6. Click Done.
7. In the Layers pane, turn on the visibility for the Toxic burden risk disparity layer and turn off the visibility for the Toxic burden risk population in poverty layer.
8. Style the Toxic burden risk disparity layer in the same way you styled the Toxic burden risk Black population layer.
   • For Symbol pair, choose Circles with arrows.
   • Click the Flip color ramp button so the red color indicates a higher value.
   • On the histogram, set the middle handle to 1.0.
   • For Size range, set the lower range to 10 and the upper range to 45.

   The map shows where there is a higher toxic burden risk on the Black population compared to the White population. In the tract with the highest disparity, the toxic burden risk on the Black population is 10 times higher than that of the White population.

   

9. Save the map.

Style and share a policy map

You have completed your analysis of the toxic release inventory chemicals data and calculated and compared toxic burden risk ratios for several subpopulations of Kanawha County. Now you will style and prepare your map to share with relevant stakeholders, such as community members, elected officials, and decision makers to advocate for policies that can address the environmental inequities your analysis has uncovered.

You will add boundaries that the community and decision makers can readily understand and orient themselves to where the facilities are relative to where they live or have positions of power. You will add political boundaries to your map.

1. In the Layers pane, click the Add button.
2. Click My Contents and choose ArcGIS Online. In the search bar, type Kanawha districts owner: Learn_ArcGIS.
3. Add the KanawhaCounty_Districts layer to your map.
4. In the Add layer pane, click the back button. In the Layers pane, turn on the Toxic burden risk disparity layer.

   The map shows the toxic burden risk disparity between the Black and White populations, the ratio of where the Black population resides relative to the White population by tract, and county district boundaries.

   

   The map is now ready to share with stakeholders.

   The map is styled to show where there is a larger proportion of the Black population relative to the White population. The Toxic burden risk disparity layer shows one tract in particular has a much higher toxic burden risk on the Black community relative to the White community and is located in District 3.This is likely due to the high amount of chemicals released by the facilities in this tract and the high proportion of Black population that is also in the tract.

5. Save the map.
6. On the Contents toolbar, click Share map.
7. In the Share window, choose Everyone (public) and click Save.

In this tutorial, you explored TRI data for Kanawha County, West Virginia. You visualized the data by the total amount of chemicals released by facility and determined which industry and chemical release type was most prominent among the facilities in the county. You used Arcade to calculate the proportion of toxic burden risk for different population groups and calculated the racial disparity of toxic burden risk. You styled your map in a way that will be clear to your intended audience by adding political boundaries.

The map can be used to build a community coalition and build civic engagement around environmental justice policies. Pairing the map's data-driven analysis with experiences and stories of communities in affected areas can make a compelling argument for decision makers to pass more environmental justice protections in the impacted communities. This might include policies that require facilities to increase mitigative and preventive measures or contribute to a fund for the impacted residents to access health care or relocation resources.

The EPA TRI includes data for the entire United States. Consider reproducing this workflow in your city or county. Conducting spatial analysis and mapping potential disparities in toxic exposure can be a powerful tool in motivating activism and public policy.

See more examples of environmental justice action in West Virginia:

• WV is high on environmental hazards but low on environmental justice protections
• EPA takes environmental justice push to coal country
• Kanawha County Water Security Profile

You can find more tutorials in the tutorial gallery.

Acknowledgements

• The KanawhaTRI layer was created from data provided by the EPA Toxics Release Inventory 2021 data for West Virginia. Accessed April 2023.
• ACS Race and Hispanic Origin Variables - Boundaries: Esri; Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey; US Census TIGER geodatabases.
• ACS Poverty Status Variables - Boundaries: Esri; Census Bureau's API for American Community Survey; US Census TIGER geodatabases.
• The KanawhaCounty_Districts layer was created by georeferencing a PDF from the Kanawha County website. The boundaries are generalized and should not be used for official use. The layer was created for use as an example in this tutorial.
• Light Gray Canvas map sources: Esri, HERE, Garmin, FAO, NOAA, USGS, OpenStreetMap contributors, and the GIS User Community