![]() Stark inequities for certain workers ─ Where one works can impact exposures to certain toxic chemicals. These safer products must also be affordable. The information from the story map highlights the need for safer personal care products to be available in all retail stores everywhere. In the Beacon Hill neighborhood, 2% of residents are Black and 8% of residents live in poverty.Īccess plays a critical role in toxic chemical exposure disparities. In the Roxbury neighborhood, 51% of residents are Black and 34% of residents live in poverty. In the Roxbury neighborhood, 50% more of the hair products sold were classified as high-hazard compared to those sold in Beacon Hill, a few miles north. James-Todd’s team evaluated the safety of hair products available in seven Boston neighborhoods using product scores from the Environmental Working Group’s Skin Deep database. ![]() Neighborhoods with more toxic hair products ─ The availability of safer products can vary depending on where one lives.ĭr. The map is part of an interactive web series, led by Tamarra James-Todd, Ph.D., and her team at Harvard T.H. A new personal care product story map (also available in Spanish) consolidates federal labor and census data, as well as information from public health studies to show how the intersection of different factors manifests in racial disparities in the exposure to toxic ingredients in personal care products. These toxic exposures are not driven by individual choices, but rather by where one lives, where one works, and by cultural beauty standards and norms. Inequities are even manifested in the items we use every day, with personal care products marketed to women of color often containing more toxic ingredients than those marketed to white women. At the household level, families of color and low-income families experience a higher risk of lead in their drinking water and higher utility debt and energy insecurity. At the neighborhood level, communities of color often experience worse air quality, fewer green spaces, or face more extreme temperatures. Jennifer Ortega, Research Analyst, Environmental HealthĮnvironmental racism is everywhere.
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