Waiting to Inhale: The Demographics of Toxic Air Release Facilities in 21st-Century California n Manuel Pastor, Jr., University of California, Santa Cruz James L. Sadd, Occidental College Rachel Morello-Frosch, Brown University Objectives. We examine the spatial distribution of toxic air releases and residential demographics in California using 2000 Census data and coeval information from the Federal Toxic Release Inventory for evidence of disproportionate exposure. Methods. We use spatial analysis using GIS, and multivariate regression analysis, including ordered and multinomial logit regressions, in our study. Results. Ana- lytical results suggest a pattern of disproportionate exposure based on race, with the disparity most severe for Latinos, which holds in a series of multivariate regressions, including attempts to test for varying levels of pollution risk and to control for spatial dependence. Conclusions. The study corroborates earlier research focused in the Los Angeles area, and suggests that recent concerns about environmental inequities affecting Latinos in California may be well founded. California has recently become an epicenter for environmental justice activism and policy making. Community organizing has achieved some impressive victories, including: compelling a regional air quality authority in Southern California to halt an air pollution trading program that could have created toxic ‘‘hotspots’’; the adoption of stronger standards to significantly reduce acceptable cancer risks associated with air emissions from industrial facilities; and the rejection of new electrical generation facilities by low- income communities of color that have deemed the anticipated particulate air pollution levels unacceptable despite the promise of new jobs. Statewide, the California Legislature passed legislation nearly three years ago to coordinate environmental justice initiatives with federal efforts and across state agencies, including the California Environmental Protection Agency. This initiative has been followed by other bills dealing with children’s health, cumulative exposures to air toxics, drinking water standards, and the cleanup of contaminated land. n Direct correspondence and requests for data sources and coding information for study replication to James L. Sadd, Occidental College, 1600 Campus Road, Los Angeles, CA 90041 h jsadd@oxy.edu i . We acknowledge the California Endowment and the California Wellness Foundation for providing the funding for this project, and Javier Huizar for research assistance. SOCIAL SCIENCE QUARTERLY, Volume 85, Number 2, June 2004 r2004 by the Southwestern Social Science Association