Environmental groups have long complained that incidents at major industrial facilities, such as spills, releases, explosions, fires and leaks, as well as the siting of major assets bearing the risk of negative health effects, disproportionately impact communities of color. These concerns, however, have largely failed to gain traction.
Given the increasing attention paid to systemic racism endured by people of color, owing in large part to the Black Lives Matter movement, concerns that minority communities bear a disproportionate share of adverse consequences resulting from environmental incidents and asset siting likely will be magnified, and scrutiny of those claims is expected to increase significantly.
The regulated community should therefore consider the implications of the movement for incident response and asset siting, and tailor its approach to reflect current times — the era of Black Lives Matter.
