Date of Award

Spring 5-8-2026

Degree Name

Bachelor of Arts (BA)

Department

Environmental Studies

Advisor(s)

John Van Buren

Abstract

This thesis examines the disproportionate burden of lead exposure carried by low income, POC communities. The systemic nature of this problem is a symptom of a longstanding legacy of environmental injustice in the United States. Decades of federal neglect are reflected in the higher statistics of lead exposure and poisoning in predominantly black communities. While it is understood that lead exposure poses a serious threat to physical health and early cognitive development, there is a discouraging lack of urgency to remove the toxin from non-wealthy communities. The material covered by this thesis aims to identify and correct the discriminatory social and legislative failings around commercial lead use in the United States. Chapter 1 introduces how lead exposure fits under the ecosystem service framework and uses quantitative evidence to establish how lead’s disruption of these services is occurring at higher rates in poor communities. This chapter also introduces Chicago as the primary area of reference for this paper. Chapter 2 details the history of how lead has been left unaddressed inside the infrastructure of black communities. Chapter 3 covers the intersection of lead exposure and the environmental discipline of public health. Chapter 4 provides an account of the existing political landscape around this issue, including federal, local, and community positions. Chapter 5 strategizes potential solutions spearheaded by collective activism and calls for extensive legislative change. This thesis prompts readers to demand distributive justice in lead exposure risk and recognize the habitual patterns of environmental discrimination that erode society.

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