What is EJScreen?

EJScreen is an environmental justice mapping and screening tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and approach for combining environmental and demographic indicators. EJScreen users choose a geographic area; the tool then provides demographic and environmental information for that area. All of the EJScreen indicators are publicly-available data. EJScreen simply provides a way to display this information and includes a method for combining environmental and demographic indicators into EJ indexes. 

EJScreen includes:

• 12 environmental indicators
• 7 demographic indicators
• 12 EJ indexes

Each EJ index combines demographic indicators with a single environmental indicator. This tool uses provides a number of capabilities including:

• Color coded mapping
• The ability to generate a standard report for a selected area
• Comparisons showing how a selected area compares to the state, EPA region or the nation

EJScreen replaces EJView, a previous publicly available environmental justice screening tool, and incorporates recommendations from the National Environmental Justice Advisory Council (NEJAC).

Anyone using EJScreen should note there is substantial uncertainty in demographic and environmental data, particularly when looking at small geographic areas. EJScreen is not intended to provide a risk assessment. Also EJScreen does not provide data on every environmental impact and demographic indicator that may be relevant to a particular location, and data may be several years old. Screening results should be supplemented with additional information and local knowledge to get a better understanding of the issues in a selected location. It is important to understand the caveats and limitations when using EJScreen.