Introducing the Environmental Hazard Score

Many communities across the United States are exposed to environmental hazards like air pollution and chemical contamination. The implications for the physical health and well-being of residents can often be significant. High concentrations of airborne particulate matter are linked to elevated asthma rates, cardiovascular disease, lung cancer and death.1Land pollution from mines, industrial waste sites and chemical spills can make drinking water unsafe; exposure to industrial toxins has been linked to elevated cancer rates in nearby communities.2Noise pollution from traffic has also been associated with negative effects on children's cognition and achievement levels in school.3

These hazards also affect local governments in multiple ways. Contaminated areas can have a negative impact on property values, shrinking the local tax base and in some cases causing residents to move away, as was the case with the East Palestine, Ohio train derailment.4

Indirect additional costs - city worker overtime, local remediation efforts, water testing - increase the financial burden on these governments still further. To assess the overall exposure of communities across the United States to environmental hazards, ICE Climate has developed the ICE Environmental Hazard Score.

The ICE Environmental Hazard Score is constructed using data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the U.S. Census Bureau, and the U.S. Bureau of Mines. The following hazards are incorporated into the score:

1Devries, P. (2023, April). Municipal bonds: Reducing pollution in minority communities. ICE. https://www.ice.com/insights/fixed-income-data/municipal-bonds-reducing-pollution-in-minority-communities

2Warren, M. S., & Lewis, A. S. (2022, September 6). New Jersey's Lenape Nation fights Ford's toxic legacy. Science Friday. https://www.sciencefriday.com/segments/lenape-ford-waste-pollution/

3Howitt, O. (2024, June 23). How traffic noise hurts children's brains. BBC News. https://bbc.com/future/article/20240621-how-traffic-noise-pollution-harms-childrens-health-and-development

4Presha, A., Scholsberg, J., Abramoff, M., & Pereira, I. (2024, February 2). East Palestine residents still displaced, suffering 1 year after toxic train derailment. ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/US/east-palestine-residents-displaced-suffering-1-year-after/story?id=106863658

5Carrión, A. (2014, September 23). Philly is #2 on counties with most environmental hazards list. Philadelphia Magazine. https://www.phillymag.com/property/2014/09/23/realtytrac-man-made-environmental-hazards/

6Nepa, S. (2015). Superfund sites. Encyclopedia of Greater Philadelphia. https://philadelphiaencyclopedia.org/essays/superfund-sites/

7Philly has an air pollution problem. These researchers think its neighborhoods may hold a solution. Villanova University Media Room. (n.d.). https://www1.villanova.edu/villanova/media/features/AirPollutionResearch.html

8Chester. CEET: Center of Excellence in Environmental Toxicology. (n.d.). https://ceet.upenn.edu/community/target-communities/chester/

9Farmer, L. (2023, January 10). A small city's descent into bankruptcy. Route Fifty. https://www.route-fifty.com/finance/2023/01/chester-pennsylvania-bankruptcy-pensions-city-budget-finance/381645/