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8318236 
Journal Article 
Adverse Physical and Mental Health Effects of the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Among Gulf Coast Children: An Environmental Justice Perspective 
Meltzer, GY; Merdjanoff, AA; Abramson, DM 
2021 
Yes 
Environmental Justice
ISSN: 1939-4071 
14 
2 
124-133 
Background: This study applies an environmental justice lens to examine whether racial/ethnic minority and low socioeconomic status affected children's physical and mental health after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill. It expands this lens to explore whether these risk factors affected children's health due to greater direct physical exposure to crude oil or dispersant and/or household economic exposure as a result of income or job loss. Methods: We used data from the Gulf Coast Population Impact (GCPI) study, a representative survey of 1434 households in 15 highly impacted Gulf Coast communities gathered from April to August 2012. We conducted binomial logistic regression to assess the associations between race/ethnicity and annual household income, oil spill exposure routes, and children's health. Results: Non-White children (prevalence odds ratios [POR] 1.4095% confidence interval [CI] 1.04–1.89) and those with direct oil/dispersant exposure (POR 3.6895% CI 2.78–4.87) were at greater risk of physical health problems. Children in households earning less than $20,000 annually (POR 2.9095% CI 1.88–4.48) and those with direct oil/dispersant exposure (POR 3.7495% CI 2.72–5.14) were at greater risk of mental health problems. Racial/ethnic minority children were not at greater risk of physical exposure, whereas race/ethnicity and annual household income interacted to determine risk of economic exposure. We observed an interaction effect between annual household income and oil spill-related income or job loss on children's physical health problems. Discussion: Further environmental justice research should examine the pathways through which racial/ethnic minority and low socioeconomic status influence child health outcomes after technological disasters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] ght of Environmental Justice (19394071) is the property of Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) 
Environmental justice; Oil spills; Oil spill cleanup; Mental health; Children's health; Ethnicity; Layoffs; Gulf Coast (U.S.); Deepwater Horizon oil spill; Gulf Coast; race/ethnicity; socioeconomic status