18 June
Tyler Lorig suggested this research area to me, as one that we might be interested in looking into. A search finds some worthwhile pointers, many in the realms of "environmental racism" and "environmental justice":

from GEOGRAPHIC-BASED RESEARCH IN CANCER CONTROL AND EPIDEMIOLOGY
(http://grants.nih.gov/grants/guide/pa-files/PAS-00-120.html) :

Applications of GIS in cancer research include both exploratory and
confirmatory spatial analysis of cancer incidence, mortality, survival,
and/or prevalence in local populations.  Investigators can use a GIS to
monitor cancer patterns and their changes over both time and space, thus
serving as a tool for surveillance, planning and evaluation of cancer control
strategies as well as for implementation of culturally relevant cancer
prevention and intervention efforts in economically disadvantaged and
underserved communities.  Investigators can develop hypotheses about the
relationships between cancer rates and community characteristics for the
purpose of focusing future etiologic studies and determining community
barriers to cancer screening and prevention programs.  The latter type of
study will help target further research to analyze social factors, such as
socioeconomic status (SES), education, coping resources and support systems,
residential factors, cultural variables, institutional and political forces
such as racism and classism, familial factors, health access and health
outcomes and media influences.  In etiologic studies, a GIS can aid in
evaluating patterns of community and individual characteristics such as
occupation, ethnicity and lifestyle factors that may be related to the cancer
rates in the area.  A GIS is also a valuable tool for the evaluation of
environmental exposures which cannot be obtained by questionnaires or direct
measurements. GIS-based environmental exposure assessment will be useful in
understanding cancers with shorter latencies, e.g., childhood leukemias,
however, cancers with longer latencies can be studied when data are
available. A GIS has proven to be a valuable tool for the modeling of the
fate and transport of environmental contaminants. Examples of models that
lend themselves well to GIS-based technology include models of air
pollutants, ground water quality, and pesticide transport.

Nancy Krieger ( http://www.hsph.harvard.edu/facres/krgr.html) "...work focuses on social inequalities in health. She is a social epidemiologist, with a background in biochemistry, philosophy of science, history of public health, and involvement as an activist in issues involving social justice, science, and health..."

 race & Racism -- HSB 207b Department of Health & Social Behavior, Harvard School of Public Health (Fall, 1996) syllabus

 American College of Epidemiology Epidemiology and Minority Populations: Statement of Principles

 Health Disparities and the Impact of Poverty, Race and Ethnicity (Terence L. Jones)

 ON THE ROAD FROM ENVIRONMENTAL RACISM TO ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE (Villanova Environmental Law Journal, 1994)

 USING GIS CORRELATIONS BETWEEN MORTALITY, MORBIDITY,
     ENVIRONMENTAL, DEMOGRAPHIC, AND CENSUS DATABASES IN
                SITING ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION PERMITS
( Deborah D. Harris)

 AIDS Data Animation Project (link on http://www.ngis.com.au/bdt/Projects/Healthcare/Medical%20GIS/medical.htm which has other animations --also at http://members.nbci.com/mgdigest/medical_geography.html)

 Environmental Justice print references

 Geographic and Temporal Patterns of Toxic Industrial Chemicals Released in North Carolina, 1988-1994 (Diane Marie M. St. George, PhD, Steven B. Wing, PhD, Denise Riedel Lewis, PhD)

 Urban Pollutants: a review and annotated bibliography

 Environmental Justice: a bibliography with abstracts (Toxicology and Environmental Health Information Program, NIH)

 Annotated Bibliography 1980-1999 (Environmental Justice)

 National Historical Geographic Information System overview and  Home Page