Over 26,000 US Public Parks Border a Toxic Superfund Site-But It's Worse Than That

Key Points:

• New research from the University of Michigan reveals that nearly 18% of U.S. public parks are located within two miles of an EPA-designated Superfund Site, with over 2,000 parks overlapping these toxic waste areas.
• When considering the broader category of EPA Toxics Release Inventory (TRI) sites, over half of all U.S. parks lie within two miles of such pollution sources, and at least 63 parks share property with TRI sites.
• The study highlights the complex overlap between green spaces and pollution sites, challenging the notion that parks are uniformly beneficial for public health without considering environmental hazards.
• Colorado has the largest area of parkland overlapping with Superfund Sites, particularly near national parks in the Mountain West, where mining-related pollution has been a longstanding issue.
• Researchers call for more detailed future studies incorporating specific pollutants, local environmental factors, and neighborhood health risks to better inform advocacy and protection efforts for both human and environmental health.