New Web Site Ranks Health Risks
From Your Hometown's Worst Polluters
A RiskWorld news brief
A new web site that pinpoints major polluters in the reader’s hometown and ranks the health risks associated with each contaminant is receiving wide acclaim.
Publications from The New York Times to USA Today to Newsweek have profiled the Environmental Defense Fund’s interactive web site, called The Chemical Scorecard, and several on-line publications have named it "Pick of the Week."
One reason for the site’s popularity is its ease of use – the reader merely types in his or her zip code to generate a list of the 10 worst local polluters and the chemicals that they release. Detailed information on the health risks associated with each chemical as well as comparative ranking scores are provided as well.
Another factor behind the site’s favorable reviews is its reliance on data from authoritative government sources and its straight-forward presentation. When presenting risk assessment values and human exposure data, for example, the site informs readers when adequate data is not available to decide whether a chemical is safe.
The site compiles most of its information from approximately 150 databases from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other government organizations, which are listed on line in in-depth bibliographies. Currently, the site relies on the 1995 EPA Toxics Release Inventory for its database of major polluters, but its staff is working to incorporate the recently released 1996 data.
In response to industry critics of the EPA’s Toxics Release Inventory, who argued that EPA database focused inappropriately on the total pounds of pollutants released rather than on the health and environmental risks of the pollutants, the Environmental Defense Fund developed its own ranking system using more than 30 different considerations. In addition to this ranking system, the site also uses established ranking systems by the EPA as well as the University of Tennessee’s Center for Clean Products and Clean Technologies’ Hazard Evaluation System.
"Scorecard does a lot more than just retrieve public data. Its ranking systems are a sophisticated innovation that put pollution facts in a real human context," stated Executive Director Fred Krupp of the Environmental Defense Fund. "Our rankings are a way to address [industry critics’ points] directly and put the focus on the highest health risks."
Related Links
The Chemical Scorecard http://www.scorecard.org
The Environmental Defense Fund http://www.edf.org
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency http://www.epa.gov
Posted June 26, 1998.
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