Environmental racism is a term used to describe the connection between racism and environmental neglect and degradation that exist in communities of people targeted by racism. Environmental racism includes the concentration of environmentally destructive facilities such as sewage plants, incinerators, nuclear and toxic waste dumps and storage sites, as well as the lack of green areas and municipal maintenance, in areas which are significantly inhabited by people that are discriminated against.
In the United States, an estimated three out of five blacks and latinos, and approximately half of the Pacific/Asian islanders and Native Americans live in communities with uncontrolled waste sites. Overall, communities with the most hazardous waste facilities have the highest composition of racial and ethnic populations. In 1994, legislation was introduced in the US Congress, that would begin to address environmental justice.