[Social inequalities and distribution of the environmental burden among the population (environmental justice)].

The paper deals with the following question: How are the environmental risks distributed across different social groups? Using the term 'environmental justice', it has been discussed in the USA for more than 15 years already that environmental risks are not distributed evenly (i.e., justly). Public attention concentrates on the high environmental burden of the black community, but differences by social status are also addressed. In Germany, there is as yet no comparable discussion. In order to contribute to its development, we focus mainly on the following topics: empirical data from Germany on socio-economic differences in environmental risks concerning the home and the home environment, combination with the discussion on environmental justice, recommendations for research and health policy. The results indicate that also in Germany the lower status groups are exposed to greater environmental risks, and that regional measures of health promotion provide a good chance of reducing this inequality.