EcoWellness: Race and hazardous waste

Twenty years after a landmark study proved a link between hazardous-waste sites and minority neighborhoods, the phenomenon has only settled deeper into U.S. towns and cities, a new report says.

What's more, the racial differences are much greater than previously thought, according to "Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty," a preliminary anniversary report released today. The full report will be made public on April 22, Earth Day.

The updated report found more than 9 million Americans live in neighborhoods within about 2 miles of the 413 commercial hazardous-waste facilities in the United States.

"When we think of the U.S. in the 21st century, we think we've made a great deal of progress in environmental protection and civil rights," said David Pellow, a sociologist and professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, San Diego. "This suggests the opposite, and it's quite disheartening."

from UPI