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Detailed Map of Cancer-Causing Industrial Air Pollution in the U.S.

205 points by Jimmc414 2y ago

akira2501 2y ago
[flagged]
- dandandan 2y ago
  The darkest red areas are significantly worse, 1 in 210 in some spots.
- vpribish 2y ago
  this is not about the climate, why are you even bringing that up?
- twoodfin 2y ago
  Indeed, if these are actually “hot spots” for cancer justifying the scary coloration and risk factor #’s, it shouldn’t be beyond the investigative skills of Propublica to assess the epidemiological data, where surely these locations also stick out like sore thumbs?
- kube-system 2y ago
  > estimate something that you can absolutely just DIRECTLY measure. Sure, you can track people over 70 years, follow up to see if they die from cancer, and then record the result. But then, everyone affected is already dead. We already know how certain chemicals affect people, and because of that, we can protect people before they die of environmental issues. That's the point of the EPA. Not simply to measure problems after they happen.
  - twoodfin 2y ago
    These models certainly do not assume the only measurable effects will occur after 70 years. Most of these facilities have been emitting at or above their current levels for decades. If there’s no measurable effect on population health, that suggests the EPA is overestimating risk. In any event, I’m surprised/not-surprised that PP doesn’t take a pass at explaining why they’re not even looking at actual disease data.
- The_Blade 2y ago
  you just equivocated / moved the goalposts on that climate comment. are you a software engineer at Union Carbide? also would you point out an example of ProPublica being as grossly unscientific as you claim? i'll wait
ahaucnx 2y ago
I think the scary thing is that we can measure these health outcomes and probably connect to a source like a chemical plant but we still don't understand what exactly is causing the cancer. For example there are more than 10.000 VOCs in the air. Some are harmless but many are not. It's extremely difficult to measure them and categorize them and nearly impossible to do so in real time. So even though the EPA measures air quality continuously, they probably only cover a fraction of the harmful substances in the air.
- rawgabbit 2y ago
  Benzene. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-02/_epaoig_notificationmemo_2-22-22_benzene.pdf https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-02/_epaoig_n...
  - ForOldHack 2y ago
    Benzine causes leukemia. https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/benzene/basics/facts.asp https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/benzene/basics/facts.asp
    - chiefalchemist 2y ago
      Which known as a blood cancer, correct?
danesparza 2y ago
Hmmm ... I trust propublica, but I can't seem to look up their number on Signal. Anybody else having that issue?
- 38 2y ago
  what does that have to do with anything?
  - ForOldHack 2y ago
    He asked a legitimate question I'm regards to a popular news site. I know not whatfore, quothyhe raven nevermore.
  - danesparza 2y ago
    I literally don't know anybody else who would read this feature and also has Signal. ProPublica said they added a signal contact number just for this feature -- I couldn't seem to find that number in Signal. I was wondering if it my issue or theirs. I figured reporting it here on the site might be useful. Apparently I was wrong.
- ForOldHack 2y ago
  No "General Info and Inquiries · Mailing Address · Email · Phone · Midwest Office. 708-967-5720. Follow" https://www.propublica.org/contact https://www.propublica.org/contact Just this very day... Google added... AI, and the signal lights on streets still do not work, and an Android phone still cannot sort links in reverse chronicle order. I am going on faith that other people will see that this was NOT an advance.
kjrfghslkdjfl 2y ago
[dead]
xyzzy4747 2y ago
Now check a map of air pollution in South Asia for comparison. Maybe it's a reason India does so badly in the Olympics.
rawgabbit 2y ago
I grew up not far from Port Arthur TX. I am not surprised it is listed as a pollution hot spot. When I was there the beaches were always covered in oil and the air was thick with whatever the refineries released at night. I only knew it smelled awful and I later developed asthma. If it wasn’t for the refineries, there would be no jobs and no reason for my parents to have moved there. I mostly fault the bean counters. I know they can operate safely. They are just saving a few pennies.
tomatotomato37 2y ago
Of the two of these I inspected so far (the Parrish, Florida powerplant[0] and the Holdingford, Minnesota trailer manufacturer[1]) they both seem to be located way out in the boonies with only a low double-digit amount of either residential or farming structures observed around them once I brought up the locations in satellite view. I don't like how they are intentionally obscuring the population density and scale of these structures with the greyscale mapping they're using; on both of the ones I looked at the big scary red blob didn't even reach out of the property of the targeted industries once you match the map scales up. [0]https://maps.app.goo.gl/1JRTy4vHWirMNNuP8 https://maps.app.goo.gl/1JRTy4vHWirMNNuP8 [1]https://maps.app.goo.gl/NE3etStbsEF419ad7 https://maps.app.goo.gl/NE3etStbsEF419ad7
- kerkeslager 2y ago
  How did you conclude they were intentionally obscuring population density? How did you conclude population density, for that matter? Is it your opinion that we shouldn't be concerned about industrial polluters giving cancer to people because those people live in low population-density areas or because they report their cancer at the industrial sites where they work? Having spent the last four-ish years living in "the boonies", I am generally unimpressed by how people from urban areas talk and think about rural areas and the people that live here. City folks don't know what's happening out here, and it's often because they don't care to, and it shows.
  - amanaplanacanal 2y ago
    I’m not the person you are replying to, but I would guess they are looking at population density to see how many people are affected.
    - kerkeslager 2y ago
      That feels fairly obvious to me, but doesn't negate anything I said.
- kcplate 2y ago
  Parrish was definitely “the boonies” till probably 2021 when all the covid refugees started moving in. Now it’s probably one of the top areas where new master planned communities are sprouting up in west central fl. My wife and are considering building down there in a new one that has just started development.
JackMorgan 2y ago
I used to live near Longview TX, and it was fairly well known that people living near Eastman Chemical got cancer at higher rates. The issue is TX politicians just don't care. Which if you think if it, is really sadistic. To have a big company that is factually poisoning your population, but no one does anything about it. Almost like they are bribed by Eastman.
- jeffbee 2y ago
  One of the things I took away from the "Tom's River" book was that the difference between a cancer cluster that everyone knows exists, and one that doesn't exist at all, may be just one case. It is hard to gauge such things from folk wisdom.
- reducesuffering 2y ago
  A substantial faction of Texas tout their state as “pro-business” and “anti-regulation.” Half the time it’s just letting the companies do whatever damage they please that other states wouldn’t allow happen to their residents. It’s easy to see why it persists when attempting to tackle it would be hounded by people and politicians making it seem like you’re being anti-business.
  - JackMorgan 2y ago
    It's no surprise a lot of these dark red spots of cancer causing VOCs are in TX. And Longview TX is dark red even for TX.
- agumonkey 2y ago
  Is that the last film roll factory?
- diob 2y ago
  I'll never really understand how folks are okay with these things, especially the ones near schools.
  - jvanderbot 2y ago
ronnier 2y ago
That's not great that I grew up near a 1 in 50, in Port Arthur Texas.
mensetmanusman 2y ago
Order of magnitude how does this compare to city car pollution and CA fires?
- kfarr 2y ago
  Depends if you live in one of these areas, in that case could be worse.
kerkeslager 2y ago
Just a reminder that ProPublica is primarily by donations from individuals[1]. They do run ads and I wish they didn't, but for now at least, they receive more money from donations and I'd like to keep it that way. With any organization that strives to do good it's important to align the funding incentives with the mission. I think ProPublica is the closest investigative journalist organization to doing that. This map is one of a bunch of information presentation tools[2] which are extremely useful. In particular, I use their Nonprofit Explorer[3] all the time. [1] https://www.propublica.org/donate/ https://www.propublica.org/donate/ [2] https://www.propublica.org/newsapps/ https://www.propublica.org/newsapps/ [3] https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/ https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/
jmugan 2y ago
I just watched Dark Waters on Netflix last night. Really good movie about DuPont and teflon. In the movie, people near the plant suffer disproportionally.
- Tanoc 2y ago
  In the movie it's downplayed how much harm actually occurred. C8 poisoning still affects huge amount of the Mid Ohio Valley to this very day, and despite what the map says the area from Marietta to Ravenswood along the river still has a disproportionately high number of non-natural illnesses. As far as I know they were still doing active testing for blood C8 levels in 2008. My family members who worked at the Washington Works plant have had persisting health issues ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to bone marrow collapse that wouldn't show up on the ProPublica map because they aren't strictly cancers.
ldjkfkdsjnv 2y ago
I'm surprised Brooklyn isn't on here. Insane amounts of pollution in Gowanus and Greenpoint. Locals are aware of a ton of obscure forms of cancer.
buildsjets 2y ago
You know what does not show up on this map at all? Airports.
aaron695 2y ago
[dead]
ssousa666 2y ago
I'm surprised that Denver's Elyria-Swansea and Globeville neighborhoods were not highlighted as hotspots. I lived in Denver for many years, and these neighborhoods were commonly known to locals as some of the most polluted zip codes in the US.
bob_theslob646 2y ago
'The data in this map covers emissions from 2014 to 2018, and was last updated in August 2023 to update corrected Form R submissions. We are no longer making updates.' Is there a way to get updates outside of this website?
- swifthesitation 2y ago
  > Sources: EPA Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators model, EPA Toxics Release Inventory, EPA Integrated Risk Information System, USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program

205 points by Jimmc414 2y ago

akira2501 2y ago

[flagged]

dandandan 2y ago
The darkest red areas are significantly worse, 1 in 210 in some spots.
vpribish 2y ago
this is not about the climate, why are you even bringing that up?
twoodfin 2y ago
Indeed, if these are actually “hot spots” for cancer justifying the scary coloration and risk factor #’s, it shouldn’t be beyond the investigative skills of Propublica to assess the epidemiological data, where surely these locations also stick out like sore thumbs?
kube-system 2y ago
> estimate something that you can absolutely just DIRECTLY measure. Sure, you can track people over 70 years, follow up to see if they die from cancer, and then record the result. But then, everyone affected is already dead. We already know how certain chemicals affect people, and because of that, we can protect people before they die of environmental issues. That's the point of the EPA. Not simply to measure problems after they happen.
- twoodfin 2y ago
  These models certainly do not assume the only measurable effects will occur after 70 years. Most of these facilities have been emitting at or above their current levels for decades. If there’s no measurable effect on population health, that suggests the EPA is overestimating risk. In any event, I’m surprised/not-surprised that PP doesn’t take a pass at explaining why they’re not even looking at actual disease data.
The_Blade 2y ago
you just equivocated / moved the goalposts on that climate comment. are you a software engineer at Union Carbide? also would you point out an example of ProPublica being as grossly unscientific as you claim? i'll wait

ahaucnx 2y ago

I think the scary thing is that we can measure these health outcomes and probably connect to a source like a chemical plant but we still don't understand what exactly is causing the cancer. For example there are more than 10.000 VOCs in the air. Some are harmless but many are not. It's extremely difficult to measure them and categorize them and nearly impossible to do so in real time. So even though the EPA measures air quality continuously, they probably only cover a fraction of the harmful substances in the air.

rawgabbit 2y ago
Benzene. https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-02/_epaoig_notificationmemo_2-22-22_benzene.pdf https://www.epa.gov/system/files/documents/2022-02/_epaoig_n...
- ForOldHack 2y ago
  Benzine causes leukemia. https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/benzene/basics/facts.asp https://emergency.cdc.gov/agent/benzene/basics/facts.asp
  - chiefalchemist 2y ago
    Which known as a blood cancer, correct?

danesparza 2y ago

Hmmm ... I trust propublica, but I can't seem to look up their number on Signal. Anybody else having that issue?

38 2y ago
what does that have to do with anything?
- ForOldHack 2y ago
  He asked a legitimate question I'm regards to a popular news site. I know not whatfore, quothyhe raven nevermore.
- danesparza 2y ago
  I literally don't know anybody else who would read this feature and also has Signal. ProPublica said they added a signal contact number just for this feature -- I couldn't seem to find that number in Signal. I was wondering if it my issue or theirs. I figured reporting it here on the site might be useful. Apparently I was wrong.
ForOldHack 2y ago
No "General Info and Inquiries · Mailing Address · Email · Phone · Midwest Office. 708-967-5720. Follow" https://www.propublica.org/contact https://www.propublica.org/contact Just this very day... Google added... AI, and the signal lights on streets still do not work, and an Android phone still cannot sort links in reverse chronicle order. I am going on faith that other people will see that this was NOT an advance.

kjrfghslkdjfl 2y ago

[dead]

xyzzy4747 2y ago

Now check a map of air pollution in South Asia for comparison. Maybe it's a reason India does so badly in the Olympics.

rawgabbit 2y ago

I grew up not far from Port Arthur TX. I am not surprised it is listed as a pollution hot spot. When I was there the beaches were always covered in oil and the air was thick with whatever the refineries released at night. I only knew it smelled awful and I later developed asthma. If it wasn’t for the refineries, there would be no jobs and no reason for my parents to have moved there. I mostly fault the bean counters. I know they can operate safely. They are just saving a few pennies.

tomatotomato37 2y ago

Of the two of these I inspected so far (the Parrish, Florida powerplant[0] and the Holdingford, Minnesota trailer manufacturer[1]) they both seem to be located way out in the boonies with only a low double-digit amount of either residential or farming structures observed around them once I brought up the locations in satellite view. I don't like how they are intentionally obscuring the population density and scale of these structures with the greyscale mapping they're using; on both of the ones I looked at the big scary red blob didn't even reach out of the property of the targeted industries once you match the map scales up. [0]https://maps.app.goo.gl/1JRTy4vHWirMNNuP8 https://maps.app.goo.gl/1JRTy4vHWirMNNuP8 [1]https://maps.app.goo.gl/NE3etStbsEF419ad7 https://maps.app.goo.gl/NE3etStbsEF419ad7

kerkeslager 2y ago
How did you conclude they were intentionally obscuring population density? How did you conclude population density, for that matter? Is it your opinion that we shouldn't be concerned about industrial polluters giving cancer to people because those people live in low population-density areas or because they report their cancer at the industrial sites where they work? Having spent the last four-ish years living in "the boonies", I am generally unimpressed by how people from urban areas talk and think about rural areas and the people that live here. City folks don't know what's happening out here, and it's often because they don't care to, and it shows.
- amanaplanacanal 2y ago
  I’m not the person you are replying to, but I would guess they are looking at population density to see how many people are affected.
  - kerkeslager 2y ago
    That feels fairly obvious to me, but doesn't negate anything I said.
kcplate 2y ago
Parrish was definitely “the boonies” till probably 2021 when all the covid refugees started moving in. Now it’s probably one of the top areas where new master planned communities are sprouting up in west central fl. My wife and are considering building down there in a new one that has just started development.

JackMorgan 2y ago

I used to live near Longview TX, and it was fairly well known that people living near Eastman Chemical got cancer at higher rates. The issue is TX politicians just don't care. Which if you think if it, is really sadistic. To have a big company that is factually poisoning your population, but no one does anything about it. Almost like they are bribed by Eastman.

jeffbee 2y ago
One of the things I took away from the "Tom's River" book was that the difference between a cancer cluster that everyone knows exists, and one that doesn't exist at all, may be just one case. It is hard to gauge such things from folk wisdom.
reducesuffering 2y ago
A substantial faction of Texas tout their state as “pro-business” and “anti-regulation.” Half the time it’s just letting the companies do whatever damage they please that other states wouldn’t allow happen to their residents. It’s easy to see why it persists when attempting to tackle it would be hounded by people and politicians making it seem like you’re being anti-business.
- JackMorgan 2y ago
  It's no surprise a lot of these dark red spots of cancer causing VOCs are in TX. And Longview TX is dark red even for TX.
agumonkey 2y ago
Is that the last film roll factory?
diob 2y ago
I'll never really understand how folks are okay with these things, especially the ones near schools.
- jvanderbot 2y ago

ronnier 2y ago

That's not great that I grew up near a 1 in 50, in Port Arthur Texas.

mensetmanusman 2y ago

Order of magnitude how does this compare to city car pollution and CA fires?

kfarr 2y ago
Depends if you live in one of these areas, in that case could be worse.

kerkeslager 2y ago

Just a reminder that ProPublica is primarily by donations from individuals[1]. They do run ads and I wish they didn't, but for now at least, they receive more money from donations and I'd like to keep it that way. With any organization that strives to do good it's important to align the funding incentives with the mission. I think ProPublica is the closest investigative journalist organization to doing that. This map is one of a bunch of information presentation tools[2] which are extremely useful. In particular, I use their Nonprofit Explorer[3] all the time. [1] https://www.propublica.org/donate/ https://www.propublica.org/donate/ [2] https://www.propublica.org/newsapps/ https://www.propublica.org/newsapps/ [3] https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/ https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/

jmugan 2y ago

I just watched Dark Waters on Netflix last night. Really good movie about DuPont and teflon. In the movie, people near the plant suffer disproportionally.

Tanoc 2y ago
In the movie it's downplayed how much harm actually occurred. C8 poisoning still affects huge amount of the Mid Ohio Valley to this very day, and despite what the map says the area from Marietta to Ravenswood along the river still has a disproportionately high number of non-natural illnesses. As far as I know they were still doing active testing for blood C8 levels in 2008. My family members who worked at the Washington Works plant have had persisting health issues ranging from neurodegenerative diseases to bone marrow collapse that wouldn't show up on the ProPublica map because they aren't strictly cancers.

ldjkfkdsjnv 2y ago

I'm surprised Brooklyn isn't on here. Insane amounts of pollution in Gowanus and Greenpoint. Locals are aware of a ton of obscure forms of cancer.

buildsjets 2y ago

You know what does not show up on this map at all? Airports.

aaron695 2y ago

[dead]

ssousa666 2y ago

I'm surprised that Denver's Elyria-Swansea and Globeville neighborhoods were not highlighted as hotspots. I lived in Denver for many years, and these neighborhoods were commonly known to locals as some of the most polluted zip codes in the US.

bob_theslob646 2y ago

'The data in this map covers emissions from 2014 to 2018, and was last updated in August 2023 to update corrected Form R submissions. We are no longer making updates.' Is there a way to get updates outside of this website?

swifthesitation 2y ago
> Sources: EPA Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators model, EPA Toxics Release Inventory, EPA Integrated Risk Information System, USDA National Agriculture Imagery Program