Healthy Communities Assessment Tool

The Proximity to Superfund Sites indicator measures the share of a neighborhood located near an active Superfund site. A Superfund site is any land in the United States that has been contaminated by hazardous waste and identified by the EPA as a candidate for cleanup because it poses a risk to human health and/or the environment. Once a site is determined to be a risk to human health it is added to the National Priority List. About 70 percent of the country’s contaminated sites are near low-income housing. Superfund sites have been linked to adverse health effects including infant mortality, mental health, water and food-borne illness, and cancer. Posted in the Environmental Hazards domain, the Proximity to Superfund Sites indicator also impacts the Economic Health, Educational Opportunities, Employment Opportunities, Social Cohesion, and Neighborhood Characteristics domains. Data for the Proximity to Superfund Sites indicator comes from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS) Public Access Database.