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Air in Hundreds of Neighborhoods Carries Elevated Risk of Cancer

Posted by: Nate Berg
Thanks to: Grist
26 June 2009 - 9:00am

Residents in 600 American neighborhoods are breathing air with levels of pollution that put them at an elevated risk of developing cancer.

The levels of pollutants put almost three times as many people in these 600 neighborhoods at risk of developing cancer compared to the national average.

"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."

Full Story: Air has elevated cancer risk in 600 neighborhoods
Source: Associated Press, June 25, 2009
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In the long term, removing major urban freeways should be part of a more comprehensive approach to reduce automobile dependency by promoting public transportation and transit-oriented development.
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