Abstract
OBJECTIVES: We compared an urban fence-line community (neighboring an oil refinery) and a nonindustrial community in an exposure study focusing on pollutants of interest with respect to breast cancer and environmental justice. METHODS: We analyzed indoor and outdoor air from 40 homes in industrial Richmond, California, and 10 in rural Bolinas, California, for 153 compounds, including particulates and endocrine disruptors. RESULTS: Eighty compounds were detected outdoors in Richmond and 60 in Bolinas; Richmond concentrations were generally higher. Richmond's vanadium and nickel levels indicated effects of heavy oil combustion from oil refining and shipping; these levels were among the state's highest. In nearly half of Richmond homes, PM(2.5) exceeded California's annual ambient air quality standard. Paired outdoor-indoor measurements were significantly correlated for industry- and traffic-related PM(2.5), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, elemental carbon, metals, and sulfates (r = 0.54-0.92, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Indoor air quality is an important indicator of the cumulative impact of outdoor emissions in fence-line communities. Policies based on outdoor monitoring alone add to environmental injustice concerns in communities that host polluters. Community-based participatory exposure research can contribute to science and stimulate and inform action on the part of community residents and policymakers.