Millions Inhaling Toxic Air, EPA Reports

(AP)  Millions of people living in nearly 600 neighborhoods across the country are breathing concentrations of toxic air pollutants that put them at a much greater risk of contracting cancer, according to new data from the Environmental Protection Agency.

The levels of 80 cancer-causing substances released by automobiles, factories and other sources in these areas exceed a 100 in 1 million cancer risk. That means that if 1 million people breathed air with similar concentrations over their lifetime, about 100 additional people would be expected to develop cancer because of their exposure to the pollution.

The average cancer risk across the country is 36 in 1 million, according to the National-Scale Air Toxics Assessment, which will be released by the EPA on Wednesday.

Click here for the EPA report.

That's a decline from the 41.5 in 1 million cancer risk the EPA found when it released the last analysis in 2006. That data covered 1999 emissions.

"If we are in between 10 in 1 million and 100 in 1 million we want to look more deeply at that. If the risk is greater than 100 in 1 million, we don't like that at all ... we want to investigate that risk and do something about it," said Kelly Rimer, an environmental scientist with the EPA, in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.

Parts of Los Angeles, Calif., and Madison County, Ill., had the highest cancer risks in the nation - 1200 in 1 million and 1100 in 1 million, according to the EPA data. They were followed by two neighborhoods in Allegheny County, Pa., and one in Tuscaloosa County, Ala.

People living in parts of Coconino County, Ariz., and Lyon County, Nev., had the lowest cancer risk from air toxics. The counties with the least toxic air are Kalawao County, Hawaii, and Golden Valley County, Mont.

"Air toxic risks are local. They are a function of the sources nearest to you," said Dave Guinnup, who leads the groups that perform the risk assessments for toxic air pollutants at EPA. "If you are out in the Rocky Mountains, you are going to be closer to 2 in a million. If you are in an industrial area with a lot of traffic, you are going to be closer to 1100 in 1 million."

The analysis predicts the concentrations of 124 different hazardous air pollutants, which are known to cause cancer, respiratory problems and other health effects by coupling estimates of emissions from a variety of sources with models that attempt to simulate how the pollution will disperse in the air. Only 80 of the chemicals evaluated are known to cause cancer, EPA officials said.

The information is used by federal, state and local agencies to identify areas in need of more monitoring and attention.

The data to be released Wednesday covers pollution released in 2002.

[horse3farm]

How many cancer-causing substances has this country banned? Red dye #2 comes to mind. How about that insecticide we used to spread around outside our houses? (Can't remember the name.) Aerosol cans, food additives. So if smoking were a true cause of cancer, wouldn't that product have been off the market a long time ago? Quit picking on smokers and the hype of second hand smoke.

[new_species]

If you take the time to read all of these comments, you can see a common thread: nastiness. What has become of Americans? Why does this have to turn into a gripe session? As long is this is the kind of people that we have paying attention to the important issues of this country/world, I have little faith that we will collective work toward solutions.

[ubrew12]

People don't come here looking for solutions. They come here to broadcast their superiority: superior backbone, superior individualism, superior ethics, superior finances, superior intelligence. I'm guilty myself: I enjoy posting, but a lot of my posts are 'be like me'.

The solution is a little less boasting, a little more Charlie McGettigan:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-iAb_4gcTtM&feature=channel_page

[johninpennsyl]

Do the right thing-DON'T INHALE.

[onesword]

by DeesSoapBox June 24, 2009 9:47 AM PDT
This is for all you people who believe that smoking is the reason for all the high cancer rates in this country...

Get a clue. Now the government is finally fessing up to what I have known all along. But in this age of big industry, with all their lawyers and taxes, nothing will be done about it. The group is too large!

But get those smokers. Those evil people who do less harm to you than the government. Talk about picking on someone your own size!
__-------

Then they wonder why they haven't shut down the cigarette manufactures. Some people need to look at the big picture instead of the individual.

[DeesSoapBox]

This is for all you people who believe that smoking is the reason for all the high cancer rates in this country...

Get a clue. Now the government is finally fessing up to what I have known all along. But in this age of big industry, with all their lawyers and taxes, nothing will be done about it. The group is too large!

But get those smokers. Those evil people who do less harm to you than the government. Talk about picking on someone your own size!

[onesword]

Why ban smoking? You will get cancer anyway whether you smoke or not. You will die from eating and the air alone that's a fact. Man-made conditions, like factories will cause alot of harm to people. Taking away trees, grass and other natural bodies will cause our doom.

[displeased]

So, stop driving your car, Hungry, you're polluting. You should be walking everywhere, didn't you get the memo?
by IThoughtItWasFunnyAsIs

To stop driving is not feasible for most people because our structure is set up to rely on cars. Since most people have to drive, we need a different approach, such as creating more efficient cars, provide convenient alternative transportation, and just become more efficient with our behavior. I would also like to see more telecommuting and staggered work hours to cut back on traffic and parking. We need to get out of this mentality that we need hummers and giant SUVs to get us to work everyday. And while we're at it, stop having so many freakin babies!

[parisdakar]

Well duhhh. The smell that all big cities have, what do you think that is? It ain't flowers and fresh air.

[specialty8]

Lets get good ole Al Gore to stop his heating of 5 swimming pools and using enough energy for his mansion to supply a city block. Everyone start using less to make more for the likes of these hypocrits.

[mahdeealoo]

EPA might do well to tighten it up. When we see smoke belching out of huge factory's smokestacks, with obvious ill effect, we wonder where the EPA is.

Brazman, unfortunately by banning indoor smoking in public places, we find a cloud of cigarette smoke over the cities where people have to smoke outdoors. Driving through large towns yields outdoor air that reeks of cigarette smoke. How do we follow up that? Ban smoking all together anywhere outdoors that is public (which is everywhere)? Is that a pipe dream for those of us who were smart enough and able to quit?