Air Pollution
What to think about:
- How high are the pollution levels in Detroit? How does
Detroit's
air pollution level compare to the Environmental Protection Agency's
Standards
(EPA's)?
- Why do you think air pollution levels are so high in Detroit?
- Compare the levels of air pollution in Wayne and Washtenaw
counties.
Detroit, MI & Surrounding Area
In
Wayne County, which includes Detroit, the levels of air toxics are 257
times EPA’s safe* level of carcinogens in air.
*The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed
benchmarks for "safe" concentrations of toxics in air, levels at which
one
person in one million is at risk of developing cancer. Key represents
the
risk factor for a combination of 31 toxics as a multiple of EPA's safe
level
(e.g. darkest shade indicates levels more than 400 times EPA's safe
concentrations).
See the chart
in the introduction for a list of the 31 toxics.
Michigan Counties
*The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has developed
benchmarks for "safe" concentrations of toxics in air, levels at which
one
person in one million is at risk of developing cancer. Key represents
the
risk factor for a combination of 31 toxics as a multiple of EPA's safe
level
(e.g. darkest shade indicates levels more than 400 times EPA's safe
concentrations).
See the chart
in the introduction for a list of the 31 toxics.
All information is from
http://www.nrdc.org
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