Have you given any thought to the air that you are breathing recently? Although we are often taught in elementary school that air pollution is incredibly dangerous, many of us do not really think about it later on in life. After all, with all of the healthy ways that we are trying to save the environment, who even realized that air pollution was still a problem? Apparently, not everyone has forgot about this potentially hazardous risk.
Yahoo News reports that there are six hundred neighborhoods in the country that put millions of people at risk of developing cancer. The air in these neighborhoods contain toxic pollutants that the Environmental Protection Agency says increase the risk of cancer.
In these areas, there are 80 substances which cause cancer that are released from automobiles, factories, and various other sources. The levels of these substances put people in these areas at a cancer risk that is more than 100 in 1 million. The nationwide cancer risk is 36 in 1 million. This number has actually declined since 2006, when the nationwide average was 41.5 in 1 million.
The counties with the highest risks of cancer were areas in Los Angeles, California and Madison County, Illinois, according to Yahoo News. The risk of cancer in two neighborhoods in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania and one in Tuscaloosa County, Alabama was also very high.
As bad as it all may seem, there are still places that you can live where air toxins will not be such a negative problem for you. Neighborhoods which had air toxins but also had the lowest risks were Coconino County, Arizona and Lyon County, Nevada. Counties with the least amount of air toxins in general were Kalawao County in Hawaii and Golden Valley County in Montana.
Dave Guinnup, the Environmental Protection Agency leader of risk assessments for air pollutants, says, “Air toxic risks are local. They are a function of the sources nearest you. If you are out in the Rocky Mountains, you are going to be closer to 2 in 1 million. If you are in an industrial area with a lot of traffic, you are going to be closer to 1100 in 1 million” (Yahoo News).
Although the Environment Protection Agency has only found 80 air toxins which are known to increase the risk of cancer, there are 124 toxins in the air which are known to be hazardous. Information will be provided by the EPA on Wednesdays, which covers pollution that was released in 2002, and will help ensure that the right areas receive monitoring. Federal, state, and local agencies will use the information to determine ways to prevent air toxins from being a problem in the future.
