M 3.4 Air Pollution


 1% Percent of housing units in Sacramento have a high risk of lead hazard
  • Are there Superfund sites in your zip?  (In your BLOG, make sure to tell us what a Superfund Site is)
Superfund sites are the nation's worst toxic waste sites: 1,305 are scheduled for cleanup on the National Priorities List (NPL). About 11 million people in the U.S., including 3-4 million children, live within 1 mile of a federal Superfund site and confront potential public health risks. There are 3 Superfund Sites in my zip code. 
  • What can you tell us about the Superfund sites that are near where you live?   In 2002, this county ranked among the dirtiest/worst 10% of all counties in the U.S. in terms of water releases of recognized developmental toxicants.
  • What did you learn about the air quality in your zip code? The data is from 1999 and at time my county ranked second highest for hazardous air pollutants.

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Added Cancer Risk from HAPs: 1999 rank among all counties
Lowest / Cleanest (0-20%)
Second lowest (20-40%)
Middle (40-60%)
Third highest (60-80%)
Second highest (80-95%)
Highest / Dirtiest (95-100%)
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  • How about the water quality?
The data regarding my county is limited, the information is from the 90's. My neighborhood was built in 2013.
Clean Water Act Comparative Ranking
Cleanest/Best CountiesNational AverageDirtiest/Worst Counties
0%    50%    100%

Percentage of Surface Waters with Impaired or Threatened Uses (state + EPA data):
Number of Impaired Waterbodies (as reported by the state):
NOTE: Data limitations affect the accuracy of these rankings.
  • How did your zipcode fair on a social justice / environmental justice basis? My zip code faired poorly on a social justice/ environmental justice basis:
Distribution of Environmental Burdens in SACRAMENTO County 

DISTRIBUTION OF BURDENS BY RACE/ETHNICITY

Releases of Toxic Chemicals		(indicator of chemical releases)   Ratio
People of Color 15000  1.70
Whites 8800

Cancer Risks from Hazardous Air Pollutants		(added risk per 1,000,000)   Ratio
People of Color 290  1.04
Whites 280

Superfund Sites		(sites per square mile)   Ratio
People of Color .21  1.05
Whites .2

Facilities Emitting Criteria Air Pollutants		(facilities per square mile)   Ratio
People of Color 3.2  1.45
Whites 2.2


DISTRIBUTION OF BURDENS BY INCOME

Releases of Toxic Chemicals		(indicator of chemical releases)   Ratio
Low Income Families 17000  1.79
High Income Families 9500

Cancer Risks from Hazardous Air Pollutants		(added risk per 1,000,000)   Ratio
Low Income Families 300  1.07
High Income Families 280

Superfund Sites		(sites per square mile)   Ratio
Low Income Families .26  1.30
High Income Families .2

Facilities Emitting Criteria Air Pollutants		(facilities per square mile)   Ratio
Low Income Families 3.3  1.83
High Income Families 1.8


DISTRIBUTION OF BURDENS BY POVERTY

Releases of Toxic Chemicals		(indicator of chemical releases)   Ratio
Families Below Poverty 18000  1.84
Families Above Poverty 9800

Cancer Risks from Hazardous Air Pollutants		(added risk per 1,000,000)   Ratio
Families Below Poverty 300  1.07
Families Above Poverty 280

Superfund Sites		(sites per square mile)   Ratio
Families Below Poverty .26  1.30
Families Above Poverty .2

Facilities Emitting Criteria Air Pollutants		(facilities per square mile)   Ratio
Families Below Poverty 3.2  1.68
Families Above Poverty 1.9


DISTRIBUTION OF BURDENS BY CHILDHOOD POVERTY

Releases of Toxic Chemicals		(indicator of chemical releases)   Ratio
Kids Below Poverty 18000  1.96
Kids Above Poverty 9200

Cancer Risks from Hazardous Air Pollutants		(added risk per 1,000,000)   Ratio
Kids Below Poverty 300  1.07
Kids Above Poverty 280

Superfund Sites		(sites per square mile)   Ratio
Kids Below Poverty .26  1.30
Kids Above Poverty .2

Facilities Emitting Criteria Air Pollutants		(facilities per square mile)   Ratio
Kids Below Poverty 3.1  1.72
Kids Above Poverty 1.8


DISTRIBUTION OF BURDENS BY EDUCATION

Releases of Toxic Chemicals		(indicator of chemical releases)   Ratio
Non-Highschool Graduates 16000  1.76
Highschool Graduates 9100

Cancer Risks from Hazardous Air Pollutants		(added risk per 1,000,000)   Ratio
Non-Highschool Graduates 290  1.04
Highschool Graduates 280

Superfund Sites		(sites per square mile)   Ratio
Non-Highschool Graduates .25  1.32
Highschool Graduates .19

Facilities Emitting Criteria Air Pollutants		(facilities per square mile)   Ratio
Non-Highschool Graduates 3.7  1.54
Highschool Graduates 2.4


DISTRIBUTION OF BURDENS BY JOB CLASSIFICATION

Releases of Toxic Chemicals		(indicator of chemical releases)   Ratio
Working Class People 10000  1.33
Non-Working Class People 7500

Cancer Risks from Hazardous Air Pollutants		(added risk per 1,000,000)   Ratio
Working Class People 280  1.04
Non-Working Class People 270

Superfund Sites		(sites per square mile)   Ratio
Working Class People .21  1.31
Non-Working Class People .16

Facilities Emitting Criteria Air Pollutants		(facilities per square mile)   Ratio
Working Class People 2.3  1.05
Non-Working Class People 2.2


DISTRIBUTION OF BURDENS BY HOME OWNERSHIP

Releases of Toxic Chemicals		(indicator of chemical releases)   Ratio
Renters 9800  0.89
Homeowners 11000

Cancer Risks from Hazardous Air Pollutants		(added risk per 1,000,000)   Ratio
Renters 270  0.90
Homeowners 300

Superfund Sites		(sites per square mile)   Ratio
Renters .2  1.00
Homeowners .2

Facilities Emitting Criteria Air Pollutants		(facilities per square mile)   Ratio
Renters 1.8  0.44
Homeowners 4.1

Comments

  1. snaymallickSeptember 16, 2018 at 6:18 PM

    Hello Claudia!

    I enjoyed you post about Sacramento county! I believe we both live in a very similar county when it comes to pollution and our smog. I live in the suburbs and it can get very smoggy. We have military bases in our area that pollute our air as well. What I try to do is limit myself near the bases and of course we do not live near them so our air is a bit cleaner than most. Thanks Claudia!

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownSeptember 16, 2018 at 8:54 PM

    Hi Claudia,

    I don't visit Sacramento often, so I appreciate learning a bit more about your community via this post. I was surprised to read that there are 3 superfund sites in or near your community! I work close to superfund site and find that 1 is too much, so 3 is baffling! I'd be interested in learning what the EPA has done or is doing to make these sites safer for the community. I also recognize that a lot of the data on the website is quite dated, so I'd be interested in learning whether any of these numbers have gotten better or worse over time.

    ReplyDelete

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