Office of Land and Emergency Management Program Benefits

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While there is no single way to characterize communities located near our sites, this population is on average more minority, lower income, more linguistically isolated and less likely to have a high school education than the overall U.S. population. As a result, these communities may have fewer resources with which to address concerns about their health and environment.

OLEM also works with states, territories, tribes and industry to protect the environment and human health from potential releases at Underground Storage Tank facilities. The greatest potential threat from a leaking UST is contamination of groundwater, the source of drinking water for nearly half of all Americans. Approximately 94 percent of the U.S. population lives within 3 miles of an active UST facility, and 74 percent of the U.S. population lives within 3 miles of an open LUST release. The population living closest (within ¼ mile) to these USTs and LUSTs are on average more minority, lower income, more linguistically isolated and less likely to have a high school education then the overall U.S. population.³

Note: Superfund includes Remedial and Federal Facility final, proposed and deleted NPL sites, as well as non-NPL Superfund Alternative Agreement sites.

Methodology

1: Modeled Site Boundaries: Latitude and longitude coordinates were used to map site locations. Actual boundaries were available for 1,879 of the 1,890 Superfund sites. Brownfield, RCRA and the remaining Superfund sites were modeled as circles based on site acreage around each site’s latitude and longitude coordinates. Open LUST releases and active UST facilities were modeled as points because acreages were unavailable. Site data used included:

• Superfund sites from SEMS as of FY 2023 and site boundary data updated in 2024 by SEGS
• Brownfields sites from ACRES as of FY 2023
• RCRA CA facilities from RCRAInfo as of FY 2023
• Active UST facilities and open LUST releases from UST Finder, from states as of 2018-2019, from Tribal Lands as of 2023, and U.S. territories as of 2020-2021
• Superfund Removal sites as of FY2019-FY2023

2: Mapped Buffers Around Site Boundaries: Buffers of varying distance were drawn from the site location. For all sites, a 1-mile buffer and a 3-mile buffer was used. For Brownfields, an additional ½-mile buffer was analyzed, and for active UST facilities and open LUST releases an additional ¼-mile buffer was analyzed.

3: Estimated Population Near to Sites: Next 2020 Census block centroids were layered over the site boundaries and if the census block centroid fell within the site buffer, the population of that block was included in the population estimate. Census blocks that fell within more than one site’s buffer (i.e., sites were located near each other) were only counted once. Population characteristic data from the American Community Survey 5-Year Data (2018-2022) was not available for census blocks but was available for block groups. To calculate the block population characteristics, the population percentage of the block within the block group was calculated and then that weight was applied to the respective block group characteristic of interest to estimate a value for the block.

4: Comparison: The near site population estimates were compared to the overall U.S. population to identify differences in characteristics.

Limitations: Data analyzed here takes a national look at select characteristics of the population in communities surrounding our sites. While some of the data point to possible environmental justice concerns in these communities, this is not a full environmental justice analysis. More site-specific information is available in EJScreen, where a more comprehensive environmental justice analysis can be completed. EJScreen is EPA's environmental justice mapping and screening tool that provides EPA with a nationally consistent dataset and approach for combining environmental and socioeconomic indicators. Note also that proximity to a site does not necessarily represent risk of adverse health effects. The risk of exposure to contamination varies significantly across all sites. Lastly, these estimates were made using the best available information but there are some limitations. For all RCRA Corrective Action and Brownfield sites, modelled site boundaries based on a latitude and longitude coordinate location and acreage were used. Actual boundaries were used for a subset of 1,879 of 1,890 Superfund sites. Only latitude and longitude coordinates were used for active UST facilities and open LUST releases. Another limiting factor is that data on the population were at the census block level and the estimates were made based on whether the census block centroid was within the distance buffer, which could underestimate the population in some cases and overestimate it in others.

Superfund Sites: Estimated Nearby Population and their Characteristics

Superfund sites exist in thousands of communities across the United States. Many of these sites are in economically distressed, underserved and overburdened communities. EPA’s Superfund program is responsible for cleaning up some of the nation’s most contaminated land and responding to environmental emergencies, oil spills and natural disasters. To protect public health and the environment, the Superfund program focuses on making a visible and lasting difference in communities, ensuring that people can live and work in healthy, vibrant places. To help understand who may benefit from EPA’s Superfund Program, the agency used American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Data on population and FY 2022 Superfund site locations to estimate the population living within 1 mile and within 3 miles of the sites and their characteristics. These sites include Superfund and Federal Facilities final, deleted and proposed National Priorities List sites as well as non-NPL Superfund Alternative Agreement sites. The analysis included 1,890 Superfund sites.

Approximately 78 million people live within 3 miles of a Superfund site (roughly 23% of the U.S. population), including 24% of children under age 5. While there is no single way to characterize communities located near our sites, the population living within 3 miles of a Superfund site is on average more minority, lower income, more linguistically isolated and less likely to have a high school education than the overall U.S. population. This is also true for those approximately 24 million people living within 1 mile of a Superfund site.

Estimated average characteristics within 1 mile and 3 miles of a Superfund site versus in the total U.S. population

Race	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
White	57.8%	57.7%	65.7%
Black	12.2%	14.5%	12.4%
Asian	8.8%	8.0%	5.7%
Native American	0.8%	0.7%	0.8%
Hawaiian/Pacific  Islander	0.3%	0.3%	0.2%
Other	20.0%	18.9%	15.2%

Ethnicity	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Hispanic (any race)	25.4%	24.2%	19.4%
Non-Hispanic (any race)	74.6%	75.8%	80.6%
Minority	50.8%	50.6%	41.7%

Income	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Households below the poverty level	14.0%	13.8%	12.7%
Households with incomes of at least two times the poverty level	68.7%	69.4%	70.8%

Education	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Less than a high school education	12.7%	12.3%	11.0%

Linguistically isolated	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Linguistically isolated households	6.8%	6.6%	4.8%

Age	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Under 5 years of age	5.8%	5.8%	5.7%
Under 18 years of age	21.2%	21.6%	22.1%
Over 64 years of age	14.6%	15.1%	16.6%

Federal Facility Superfund Sites: Estimated Nearby Population and their Characteristics

Federal Facility Superfund sites exist in many communities across the United States. Many of these sites are in economically distressed, underserved and overburdened communities. The Federal Facilities Restoration and Reuse Office's mission is to facilitate faster, more effective and less costly cleanup and reuse of federal facilities while ensuring protection of human health and the environment. To help describe who may benefit from EPA’s Federal Facility Superfund Program, the agency used American Community Survey 2022 5-Year Data on populations and FY 2023 Federal Facility Superfund sites to estimate and summarize the characteristics of the population living within 1 mile and within 3 miles of sites. This analysis included 177 Federal Facility Superfund sites.

Approximately 13 million people live within 3 miles of a Federal Facility Superfund site (roughly 4% of the U.S. population), including 4% of children under age 5. While there is no single way to characterize communities located near these sites, the population living within 3 miles of a Federal Facility Superfund site is on average more minority than the overall U.S. population. This is also true for those approximately 3 million people living within 1 mile of a Federal Facility Superfund site.

Estimated average population characteristics within 1 mile and 3 miles of a Federal Facility Superfund site versus in the total U.S. population

Race	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
White	53.9%	54.6%	65.7%
Black	14.2%	15.4%	12.4%
Asian	11.2%	10.3%	5.7%
Native American	0.9%	0.8%	0.8%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	1.3%	0.8%	0.2%
Other	18.6%	18.1%	15.2%

Ethnicity	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Hispanic (any race)	20.0%	20.0%	19.4%
Non-Hispanic (any race)	80.0%	80.0%	80.6%
Minority	52.8%	51.9%	41.7%

Income	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Households below the poverty level	11.4%	11.5%	12.7%
Households with incomes of at least two times the poverty level	72.1%	73.1%	70.8%

Education	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Less than a high school education	10.0%	10.2%	11.0%

Linguistically isolated	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Linguistically isolated households	4.4%	5.1%	4.8%

Age	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Under 5 years of age	6.8%	6.2%	6.2%
Under 18 years of age	23.3%	22.4%	22.4%
Over 64 years of age	12.7%	14.2%	14.2%

Superfund Removal Actions: Estimated Nearby Population and their Characteristics

The Superfund Emergency Response and Removal Program functions as the backbone federal response to many emergency events; provides response support to state, local, tribal and potentially responsible parties when their response capabilities are exceeded; and manages risks to human health and the environment. Removal actions are typically immediate short-term responses intended to protect people from threats posed by hazardous waste sites. Removal actions occur in many communities across the United States. Many of these removal actions are in economically distressed, underserved and overburdened communities. To help describe who may benefit from EPA’s Superfund Removal Program, the agency used American Community Survey 5-Year Data on populations and FY 2019 to FY 2023 Removal sites to summarize the population living within 1 mile and within 3 miles of these sites. The sites include both “removal only” sites and remedial National Priority List sites with removal actions. This analysis included the 1,070 Superfund Removal Action sites that occurred between FY 2019 and FY 2023.

Approximately 40 million people live within 3 miles of a Superfund Removal Action site that occurred between FY2019 and FY2023 (roughly 12% of the U.S. population), including 12% of children under age 5. While there is no single way to characterize communities located near these sites, the population living within 3 miles of these Superfund Removal Action sites is on average more minority, lower income, more linguistically isolated and less likely to have a high school education than the overall U.S. population. This is also true for those approximately 7 million people living within 1 mile of these Superfund Removal Action sites.

Estimated average characteristics within 1 mile and 3 miles of a Superfund Removal Action site (FY 2019 – FY 2023) versus in the total U.S. population

Race	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
White	54.6%	54.2%	65.7%
Black	18.9%	18.8%	12.4%
Asian	6.2%	7.4%	5.7%
Native American	0.7%	0.7%	0.8%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
Other	19.3%	18.8%	15.2%

Ethnicity	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Hispanic (any race)	24.1%	23.6%	19.4%
Non-Hispanic (any race)	75.9%	76.4%	80.6%
Minority	53.2%	53.5%	41.7%

Income	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Households below the poverty level	16.8%	15.5%	12.7%
Households with incomes of at least two times the poverty level	63.9%	66.6%	70.8%

Education	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Less than a high school education	13.7%	13.1%	11.0%

Linguistically isolated	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Linguistically isolated Households	6.7%	6.4%	4.8%

Age	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Under 5 years of age	5.8%	5.9%	5.7%
Under 18 years of age	21.2%	21.5%	22.1%
Over 64 years of age	14.0%	14.5%	16.6%

Brownfields: Estimated Nearby Population and their Characteristics

Brownfields sites exist in thousands of communities across the United States. Many of these sites are in economically distressed, underserved and overburdened communities. EPA’s Brownfields Program provides grants and technical assistance to communities, states, Tribes, and others to assess, safely clean up and sustainably reuse contaminated properties. To help describe who may benefit from EPA’s Brownfields Program, the agency used American Community Survey 5-Year Data on populations and Brownfields as of the end of FY2023 to summarize the population living within 3, 1 and ½ mile(s) of Brownfield sites that received EPA funding. The analysis included 36,487 Brownfield sites that received EPA funding.

Approximately 164 million people live within 3 miles of a Brownfields site (roughly 49% of the U.S. population), including 49% of children under age 5. While there is no single way to characterize communities located near these sites, the population living within 3 miles of a Brownfields site is on average more minority, lower income, more linguistically isolated and less likely to have a high school education when compared to the overall U.S. population. This is also true for those approximately 73 million people living within 1 mile and the 37 million people living with ½ mile of a Brownfields site.

Estimated average characteristics within 1 mile and 3 miles of a Brownfields site versus in the total U.S. population

Race	Within ½ mile	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
White	53.7%	55.3%	59.6%	65.7%
Black	20.6%	19.1%	15.6%	12.4%
Asian	5.5%	5.8%	6.4%	5.7%
Native American	1.1%	1.0%	0.9%	0.8%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
Other	18.8%	18.5%	17.3%	15.2%

Ethnicity	Within ½ mile	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Hispanic (any race)	23.5%	23.4%	22.0%	19.4%
Non-Hispanic (any race)	76.5%	76.6%	78.0%	80.6%
Minority	53.9%	52.5%	48.2%	41.7%

Income	Within ½ mile	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Households below the poverty level	19.7%	18.0%	14.8%	12.7%
Households with incomes of at least two times the  poverty level	59.1%	61.8%	67.2%	70.8%
Less than a high school education	15.1%	14.3%	12.4%	11.0%

Linguistically isolated	Within ½ mile	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Linguistically isolated households	6.7%	6.5%	5.9%	4.8%

Age	Within ½ mile	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Under 5 years of age	5.8%	5.8%	5.8%	5.7%
Under 18 years of age	21.0%	21.2%	21.5%	22.1%
Over 64 years of age	14.4%	14.8%	15.8%	16.6%

RCRA Corrective Action Facilities: Estimated Nearby Population and their Characteristics

RCRA Corrective Action facilities exist in thousands of communities across the United States. Many of these facilities are in economically distressed underserved and overburdened communities. To help describe who may benefit from EPA’s RCRA Corrective Action Program cleanup work, the agency used American Community Survey 5-Year data on population and FY 2023 RCRA Corrective Action to summarize the population living within 3 miles and within 1 mile of RCRA CA facilities. The analysis included 3,970 RCRA Corrective Action Facilities.

Approximately 118 million people live within 3 miles of a RCRA Corrective Action facility (roughly 35% of the U.S. population), including 36% of children under age 5. While there is no single way to characterize communities located near these facilities, the population living within 3 miles of a RCRA Corrective Action facility is on average more minority, lower income, more linguistically isolated and less likely to have a high school education than the overall U.S. population. This is also true for those approximately 31 million people living within 1 mile a RCRA Corrective Action facility.

Estimated average characteristics within 1 mile and 3 miles of a RCRA Corrective Action Facility versus in the total U.S. population

Race	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
White	57.5%	57.7%	65.7%
Black	15.6%	15.6%	12.4%
Asian	6.8%	7.6%	5.7%
Native American	0.7%	0.6%	0.8%
Hawaiian/Pacific Islander	0.2%	0.2%	0.2%
Other	19.1%	18.2%	15.2%

Ethnicity	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Hispanic (any race)	24.9%	23.5%	19.4%
Non-Hispanic (any race)	75.1%	76.5%	80.6%
Minority	51.5%	50.6%	41.7%

Income	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Households below the poverty level	15.9%	14.4%	12.7%
Households with incomes  of at least two times the Poverty level	15.9%	14.4%	12.7%

Education	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Less than a high school education	13.3%	12.3%	11.0%

Linguistically isolated	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Linguistically isolated Households	6.4%	6.3%	4.8%

Age	Within 1 mile	Within 3 miles	U.S. Population
Under 5 years of age	6.0%	5.9%	5.7%
Under 18 years of age	21.8%	21.6%	22.1%
Over 64 years of age	14.1%	15.0%	16.6%

Active Underground Storage Tank Facilities: Estimated Nearby Population and their Characteristics