Editing Environmental gradient (section)

== Environmental gradients in society ==
[[File:Fukushima radiation dose map 2011-04-29.png|thumb|The distribution of radiation traveling outward from the site of the [[Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster]] formed a man-made environmental gradient on the Honshu island of Japan.]]
Environmental gradients are not limited to naturally occurring variations in environmental factors across a range; they have also been created by human activity and industrialization. Air pollution is present as an environmental gradient in areas containing power plants, factories, and other pollutant-emitting facilities, as are environmental toxins, such as heavy metals, radiation, and pesticides; generally speaking, concentration decreases as distance from origin site increases.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Semenova|first1=Yuliya|last2=Pivina|first2=Lyudmila|last3=Zhunussov|first3=Yersin|last4=Zhanaspayev|first4=Marat|last5=Chirumbolo|first5=Salvatore|last6=Muzdubayeva|first6=Zhanna|last7=Bjørklund|first7=Geir|date=2020|title=Radiation-related health hazards to uranium miners|url=https://link.springer.com/10.1007/s11356-020-09590-7|journal=Environmental Science and Pollution Research|language=en|volume=27|issue=28|pages=34808–34822|doi=10.1007/s11356-020-09590-7|pmid=32638305|s2cid=220398252|issn=0944-1344|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Tsai|first=Wen-Tien|date=2005|title=An overview of environmental hazards and exposure risk of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S004565350500500X|journal=Chemosphere|language=en|volume=61|issue=11|pages=1539–1547|doi=10.1016/j.chemosphere.2005.03.084|pmid=15936055|bibcode=2005Chmsp..61.1539T|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Ameh|first1=Thelma|last2=Sayes|first2=Christie M.|date=2019|title=The potential exposure and hazards of copper nanoparticles: A review|url=https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1382668919300912|journal=Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology|language=en|volume=71|pages=103220|doi=10.1016/j.etap.2019.103220|pmid=31306862|s2cid=196810894|url-access=subscription}}</ref> Differences in exposure to these elements across populations due to proximity to the origin site has become a major concern of environmental and public health activists, who cite health disparities linked to these gradients as an [[environmental justice]] concern.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Evans|first1=Gary W.|last2=Kantrowitz|first2=Elyse|date=2002|title=Socioeconomic Status and Health: The Potential Role of Environmental Risk Exposure|url=https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/10.1146/annurev.publhealth.23.112001.112349|journal=Annual Review of Public Health|language=en|volume=23|issue=1|pages=303–331|doi=10.1146/annurev.publhealth.23.112001.112349|pmid=11910065|issn=0163-7525|doi-access=free|url-access=subscription}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Lauriola|first1=Paolo|last2=Crabbe|first2=Helen|last3=Behbod|first3=Behrooz|last4=Yip|first4=Fuyuen|last5=Medina|first5=Sylvia|last6=Semenza|first6=Jan C.|last7=Vardoulakis|first7=Sotiris|last8=Kass|first8=Dan|last9=Zeka|first9=Ariana|last10=Khonelidze|first10=Irma|last11=Ashworth|first11=Matthew|date=2020-03-17|title=Advancing Global Health through Environmental and Public Health Tracking|journal=International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health|language=en|volume=17|issue=6|pages=1976|doi=10.3390/ijerph17061976|issn=1660-4601|pmc=7142667|pmid=32192215|doi-access=free}}</ref>