EJScreen Indicators Overview – Hazardous Waste Proximity

What is the hazardous waste proximity?

The “hazardous waste proximity indicator” measures how close people might live to a facility that handles hazardous waste. EJScreen presents hazardous waste proximity using percentile rank, ranging from 0 (lowest) to 100 (highest) with higher scores representing closer proximities.

Why is hazardous waste proximity important?

• The EPA requires all facilities that currently treat, store, or dispose of hazardous wastes or plan to do so to obtain a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) permit. Permits typically require facilities to develop emergency plans, find insurance and financial backing, and train employees to handle hazards.
• Hazardous waste facilities can expose people to danger in various ways. Some volatile contaminants can turn into gases that we might breathe in. In dry areas or seasons, pollutants on the ground can become dust and get into the air, either directly inhaled or settling on surfaces we touch. They can also land on farmland and get into the food we eat. Some pollutants seep into groundwater, which can end up in our drinking water or even seep into buildings.

How does EJScreen create the hazardous waste proximity?

• The hazardous waste proximity indicator is based on the total count of hazardous waste facilities in each census block group within 5 km of the average resident in a block group (or the closest within 10 km), divided by distance, and calculated as the population-weighted average of blocks in each block group. Hazardous waste facilities include RCRA handlers that are operating Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities or reporting Large Quantity Generators.
• Data were collected through the RCRAInfo Search website and BR Search website.
• For technical details on the calculations and source data, visit the EJScreen Technical Documentation.

Moving Forward – What You Can Do

• Stay informed on the latest relevant information and resources on the EPA Hazardous Waste page.
• Learn about the EPA’s Hazardous Waste Initiatives.
• Search for hazardous waste handler information in the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo), a national program management and inventory system about hazardous waste handlers. In general, all generators, transporters, treaters, storers, and disposers of hazardous waste are required to provide information about their activities to state environmental agencies.
• Access detailed hazardous waste information for large quantity generators near you with the Biennial Report Search. This Hazardous Waste Report collects data on the generation, management, and minimization of hazardous waste from Large Quantity Generators and Treatment, Storage, and Disposal Facilities.
• View a map of hazardous waste cleanup locations and access details about those cleanups, grants, and other related information on the Cleanups in My Community web app.
• Search for facilities in your community to check their compliance with hazardous waste and other environmental regulations on the EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) website.