December 14, 2005
neighborhood pollution?
Today’s RTD has an article saying that “blacks were more than twice as likely as whites to live in neighborhoods where air pollution seems to pose the greatest health dangers”. The page lets you check your area for pollution.
Results for my Fairmount address are:
Your Health Risk — Industrial Air Pollution
The government’s health risk score from industrial air pollution in your neighborhood is 19.6 times the average for neighborhoods nationwide. A number less than 1.0 means the risk is below the national average. If the number is 0, the neighborhood either has no residents or no pollution.
The risk scores calculated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency aren’t meant to estimate citizens’ odds of getting sick but rather are designed to compare communities and identify those that need further attention.
A number several times the average isn’t necessarily cause for concern. The majority of the health risk is concentrated in the top 5 percent most polluted neighborhoods, where the risk score is at least 19.5 times the national average.
Your neighborhood is among the worst 5 percent nationally for health risk from industrial air pollution.
Your neighborhood is among the worst 10 percent in your state for health risk from industrial air pollution.
Your Neighborhood’s Demographics
0% White
97.8% Black
0% Hispanic
What would make the air so filthy around here? And, yes, the demographics are a little off, because I know *for a fact* that at least 1 white person lives in the area.
Some other area addresses:
Barton Heights (Greenwood + Wickham): 23.7X national average
The Fan (Stuart + Stafford): 5.6X
Far West End (Gaskins and Springfield): 2.2X
And the kicker, Highland Park Southern Tip (4th and Althea) is 85.4 times the national average!!! However, just 5 blocks north it drops to 18X and another 5 it’s 15X.
I wonder if the Highland Park numbers are due to the proximity of that neighborhood to I-64? Let’s hope it’s just bad data…
This is crazy.
Andrew,
It makes sense that the nearby interstates would affect the air up here as well.
1000 Mosby St 26.1 times the national average
1800 Venable Ave. 37.3 times the national average