Environmental Justice: Who Lives Near Polluters?

The Pattern in the Data

When researchers overlay industrial facility locations with Census demographic data, a consistent pattern emerges: industrial polluters cluster near communities with lower incomes and, in many regions, higher proportions of people of color. This isn't a new finding, academic studies have documented it since the 1980s, but the public availability of TRI data makes it possible for anyone to investigate this pattern in their own area.

The EPA's EJScreen database formalizes this analysis, combining environmental indicators from TRI, air quality monitoring, Superfund proximity, wastewater discharges, and drinking water violations with demographic data from the Census Bureau. The result is a community-by-community picture of cumulative environmental burden.

Browse state-level facility data on PlainEnviro to begin mapping industrial activity in your region. Each facility page shows chemicals released, quantities, and 5-year trends.

High-Burden Counties: What the TRI Shows

The following counties have high concentrations of TRI-reporting facilities and represent some of the most studied environmental justice communities in the United States. These are factual data points from EPA reporting, they do not imply illegal activity by facilities.

Source: EPA Toxics Release Inventory 2019–2023 EPA Toxics Release Inventory 2019–2023 Facility counts and release volumes are computed from the portal database at page load

Cancer Alley: A Case Study

The industrial corridor along the Mississippi River in Louisiana, often called "Cancer Alley" - is one of the most documented examples of cumulative industrial burden in the United States. The corridor hosts 150+ petrochemical plants between Baton Rouge and New Orleans across roughly 85 miles.

EPA air monitoring in the region has found elevated concentrations of chloroprene, ethylene oxide, and other carcinogens at levels far above national averages. Several communities in the corridor have cancer rates that are dramatically higher than state and national benchmarks, according to Louisiana Tumor Registry data, though establishing direct causation is scientifically complex.

St. John the Baptist Parish, a predominantly Black community in the corridor, was the subject of a 2019 EPA risk assessment that found air cancer risks 50 times the national average. The primary driver was chloroprene from a nearby neoprene plant.

How Cumulative Burden Works

Environmental justice researchers emphasize that no single pollutant or facility tells the full story. What matters is cumulative burden, the combined effect of multiple pollution sources, socioeconomic stressors, and reduced access to healthcare that can amplify health impacts.

The EPA's EJScreen calculates cumulative burden indexes that combine:

• Particulate matter (PM2.5): Fine particles linked to heart and lung disease.
• Ozone: Ground-level ozone causes respiratory irritation and asthma.
• NATA air toxics cancer risk: EPA's modeled lifetime cancer risk from air toxics.
• Traffic proximity: Traffic density is a major source of localized air pollution.
• TRI facility proximity: Distance to and release volumes of nearby reporting facilities.
• Superfund proximity: Distance to active NPL sites with contamination risk.
• Wastewater discharges: Industrial wastewater permit holders and their discharge volumes.

Enforcement Disparities

Beyond exposure, environmental justice research has examined whether regulatory enforcement is applied equitably. Several studies have found that:

• Facilities in communities of color take longer to be cleaned up when they become Superfund sites.
• Fines for environmental violations can be lower in low-income communities, a pattern EPA has acknowledged and pledged to address.
• Air permit limits for facilities are sometimes less stringent in low-income communities, though evidence here is mixed across jurisdictions.

The EPA established its Office of Environmental Justice in 1992 and has periodically updated its EJ strategy. The Biden administration significantly expanded EJ commitments including Justice40. These policies remain subject to legal and regulatory changes.

How to Research Your Community

If you want to investigate environmental burdens in your community, here's a practical workflow using publicly available data:

1. Visit your state page on PlainEnviro to see all TRI-reporting facilities and their combined releases.
2. Check individual facility pages for which chemicals are released, in what quantities, and through which pathways (air, water, land).
3. Look up your county in EPA's EJScreen (ejscreen.epa.gov) for a composite burden score with demographic context.
4. Check for Superfund sites in your area that may indicate historical contamination.
5. Review the environmental screening data PlainEnviro provides for additional context.

TRI data alone doesn't capture all pollution sources. Traffic emissions, permitted air discharges, and nonpoint source pollution (agricultural runoff) are not in TRI. Use EJScreen for a more complete picture.

Limitations of the Data

TRI data has important limitations for environmental justice analysis:

• Self-reporting: TRI data is reported by facilities, not independently measured. Reporting errors are possible.
• Threshold-based: Only facilities above reporting thresholds are included. Many small emitters aren't captured.
• Pounds ≠ risk: Total pounds released don't capture toxicity differences between chemicals. A small release of a highly toxic chemical may be more concerning than a large release of a less toxic one.
• No dispersion modeling: TRI doesn't show where releases go. Air emissions disperse based on wind patterns, stack height, and local topography.

Frequently Asked Questions