Answering the Call

Houston's Air Pollution Problem

Houston is one of the top-ranked areas in the U.S. for ozone, particle pollution and toxic air releases. The city ranks 6th in the U.S. for having the worst air pollution. There are more than 400 hazardous facilities in the area including chemical and manufacturing facilities, concrete batch plants and metal recycling facilities–which can expose residents to harmful air pollutants. Air pollution disproportionately affects Houston’s lower income communities and communities of color as these hazardous facilities are concentrated in these neighborhoods.

The proximity of hazardous facilities to residential communities has created cancer clusters in some of the city’s most concentrated areas of Black and Hispanic/Latino residents. Health officials have found higher rates of respiratory cancer as well as childhood cancers, such as acute lymphoblastic leukemia in the Houston region.