June 29, 2010

Environmental Justice Professor Paul Mohai, along with Byoung-Suk Kweon, researcher and adjunct assistant professor; Sangyun Lee, research fellow; and doctoral student Kerry Joy Ard, used EPA data and a formula for measuring the impact of pollutants to evaluate the toxic burden of each zip code in Michigan.

The team identified a zip code area in Detroit as the most polluted in the state. Tina Lam of the Detroit Free Press used the findings as the basis of front page, three-part investigation of life in the neighborhood, residents' relationships with the corporations producing the toxins, and myriad serious health problems affecting individuals.

Professor Mohai is quoted in the article. He notes that Michigan doesn't restrict the proximity of industrial sites to homes and schools. "Kids are most at risk, because pound for pound, they breathe in more air," he said. "Yet, they don't have a say in where they live or go to school." The team's research was funded by a grant from the Kresge Foundation.

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100620/NEWS05/6200555/...