ProPublica, a nonprofit newsroom that exposes abuses of power and betrayals of public trust, just released what they call The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S.
The map, which is exactly as described, is an entirely unique and comprehensive assessment of U.S. industrial facilities emitting air pollution.
“ProPublica’s analysis of five years of modeled EPA data identified more than 1,000 toxic hot spots across the country and found that an estimated 250,000 people living in them may be exposed to levels of excess cancer risk that the EPA deems unacceptable.”
Using five years worth of reports, ProPublica has built a visual map that not only exposes the sheer number of these facilities (more than one thousand exist in the U.S.), but exposes what they’re capable of doing.
“The EPA’s threshold for an acceptable level of cancer risk is 1 in 10,000, meaning that of 10,000 people living in an area, there would likely be one additional case of cancer over a lifetime of exposure. But the agency has also said that ideally, Americans’ added level of cancer risk from air pollution should be far lower, 1 in a million. Our map highlights areas where the additional cancer risk is greater than 1 in 100,000 — 10 times lower than the EPA’s threshold, but still high enough to be of concern, experts say.”
To open the mapping tool, click here. To access other tools similar to this one (environmental justice, climate change, housing, etc.) search our free list of interactive data tools.
Full Story: The Most Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S. by authors Al Shaw and Lylla Younes, with additional reporting by Ava Kofman; originally published by ProPublica on November 2, 2021.
