Population Surrounding 3,771 RCRA Corrective Action Sites (Population data is from the Census Bureau's 20011-2015 ACS 5 year estimates; sites are as of FY16.) UPDATE: October 2017 RCRA Corrective Action (CA) sites exist in thousands of communities across the U.S. ranging from remote to large urban settings. Many of these sites are located in economically distressed communities. To help describe who benefits from the RCRA CA Program cleanup work, EPA collected data on the population living within 3 and 1 mile(s) of sites. Population within 3 Miles of Sites: The 3-mile area surrounding sites was used because it is a good representation of the geographic area where people in a community live most of their lives - where they shop, work, go to school, go to restaurants, and participate in outdoor activities. As of the end of FY16, approximately 111 million people live within 3 miles of a RCRA CA site (roughly 35% of the U.S. population) including approximately: • 36% of all children in the U.S. under the age of 5 • 34% of all children in the U.S. under 18 • 44% of all black people in the U.S. • 43% of all Hispanics in the U.S. • 43% of all minorities in the U.S. • 40% of all households in the U.S. below the poverty level • 38% of all people with less than a high school education in the U.S. • 47% of the linguistically isolated households in the U.S. Population within 1 Mile of Sites: As of the end of FY16, approximately 28 million people live within 1 mile of RCRA CA sites (roughly 5% of the U.S. population) including approximately: • 10% of all children in the U.S. under the age of 5 • 9% of all children in the U.S. under 18 • 12% of all black people in the U.S. • 11% of all Hispanics in the U.S. • 11% of all minorities in the U.S. • 11% of all households in the U.S. below the poverty level • 10% of all people with less than a high school education in the U.S. • 12% of the linguistically isolated households in the U.S. Demographics of Near-Site Population: While there is no single way to characterize communities located near these sites, this population is more minority, low income, linguistically isolated, and less likely to have a high school education than the U.S. population as a whole (see Table 1). As a result, these communities may have fewer resources with which to address concerns about their health and environment. TABLE 1 Proportions of Key Demographics in the Total Near-Site Population and the Total U.S. Population Population within 1 mile of All Sites Population within 3 miles of All Sites U.S. Population Minority 48.5% 47.6% 38.4% Below poverty level 18.7% 16.8% 14.7% Linguistically isolated 6.9% 7.0% 5.2% Less than a High School Education 16.3% 15.1% 13.5% OLEM/Office of Communications, Partnerships, and Analysis ------- TABLE 2: Detailed Data on the Population within 1 and 3 miles of RCRA Corrective Action Sites Below are data on the demographic characteristics of the population surrounding RCRA CA sites. The table indicates whether certain population demographics near sites are above (in bold) or below (in italics) the U.S. average. Demographics Population Within g Of Sites (Approximate) Population Within H Of Sites (Approximate) U.S. Population (Approximate) Race White 65.9% 18,767,025 66.2% 73,538,937 73.6% 235,439,052 Black 16.4% 4,671,597 16.1% 17,847,847 12.6% 40,209,614 Asian 6.1% 1,749,003 6.8% 7,603,798 5.1% 16,245,464 Native American 0.6% 178,649 0.5% 609,597 0.8% 2,580,945 Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2% 67,237 0.2% 218,517 0.2% 546,384 Other 10.7% 3,034,450 10.2% 11,317,211 7.8% 25,076,635 Ethnicity Hispanic (any race) 23.2% 6,613,285 22.2% 24,725,988 18.1% 57,779,493 Non-Hispanic (any race) 76.8% 21,854,676 77.8% 86,409,919 81.9% 262,318,601 Minority Minority (Includes all race & ethnicity categories except "non-Hispanic white") 48.5% 13,816,138 47.6% 52,916,919 38.4% 122,814,916 Income Households below the poverty level 18.7% 1,962,470 16.8% 6,922,460 14.7% 17,375,862 Households with a ratio of income to poverty level of two and over 58.2% 15,959,625 62.0% 66,967,542 65.3% 203,830,131 Education Less than a high school education 16.3% 2,990,098 15.1% 11,052,107 13.5% 28,879,991 Linguistically isolated Linguistically isolated households 6.9% 721,847 7.0% 2,867,439 5.2% 6,151,790 Age Under 5 years of age 6.9% 1,960,247 6.5% 7,273,731 6.3% 20,107,354 Under 18 years of age 23.3% 6,621,204 22.9% 25,466,183 23.3% 74,487,716 Over 64 years of age 12.1% 3,430,819 12.9% 14,285,343 14.1% 45,211,757 Total Population 28,467,961 111,135,907 320,098,094 RCRA CA - 00@g 2 ------- Methodology: • A circular site boundary, equal to the site acreage, was modeled around the latitude/longitude for each site and then a 3 or 1 mile buffer ring was placed around the site boundary. American Community Survey (ACS) 2011-2015 census data was then identified for each block group with a centroid that fell within the 3 or 1 mile area. • Data collected includes: (1) RCRA CA site information as of the end of FY2016; and (2) ACS 20011-2015 census data. Site data from FY2016 included 3,771 RCRA CA sites in the 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico with accurate locational data. IMPORTANT Caveats: • Data collected represent a national look at the characteristics of the population in communities surrounding our sites. While some of the data point to possible Environmental Justice (EJ) characteristics of the population, this is not an EJ analysis. • Proximity to a site does not necessarily represent risk of adverse health effects. The risk of exposure to contamination varies significantly across all sites. • Data are a snapshot in time only, the site and population information will change over time (can be updated every year when new census data comes out and compared over time in 5-year intervals). • Used best available information, but data collected are estimates only, for the following reasons: ~~~ Used a single latitude/longitude location to model site boundaries based on acreage, not the actual site boundaries. ~~~ Used centroid points of the census block groups which under-estimates the population in some cases, and over-estimates in others. Footnote to Use When Citing Data (Includes Methodology): 1U.S. EPA, Office of Land and Emergency Management Estimate. 2017. Data collected includes: (1) RCRA CA site information as of the end of FY2016; and (2) 20011-2015 American Community Survey (ACS) census data. Sites used in this analysis included 3,771 RCRA CA sites in the 50 U.S. states and Puerto Rico with accurate location data. RCRA CA - Page 3 ------- |