Springfield, IL (CAPITOL CITY NOW) –  A new study led by a University of Illinois Springfield researcher found that millions of Americans live near industrial waste disposal sites that handle cancer-causing chemicals, with many of those communities consisting of historically underserved populations.

Jessica Madrigal, an associate professor in the School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health at the UIS College of Health, Science and Technology, discussed the findings during the WTAX Morning Newswatch.

Madrigal said her interest in the topic stems from years of cancer research and a desire to better understand environmental factors that may contribute to health disparities.

“I’ve been doing work on what causes cancer for almost the last decade,” Madrigal said. “One of the things that we often say, but didn’t really have the actual evidence for, is that people in underserved and underrepresented communities are living in areas with higher exposure to different things that not only cause cancer, but other potential health concerns.”

Those health concerns can include diabetes, cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and birth defects, she said.

The research examined data collected by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, focusing on industrial facilities that dispose of chemicals and metals on-site. Madrigal emphasized the study is not about traditional municipal landfills where household garbage is taken.

Instead, the research looked at industrial disposal sites associated with manufacturing operations, including facilities that produce plastics or metals and dispose of waste materials through landfills, surface impoundments or underground injection wells.

“We’re really talking about industrial chemicals and metals,” Madrigal said.

Among the chemicals studied were asbestos, arsenic, cadmium and polychlorinated biphenyls, commonly known as PCBs. While scientists have long understood the risks these substances pose to workers with high levels of exposure, Madrigal said less is known about the health effects of living near disposal sites where lower levels of exposure may occur over time.

Researchers estimate that approximately 5.3 million people live in about 1,200 census tracts containing facilities that dispose of chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer in humans.

While those census tracts represent less than 2% of all census tracts nationwide, Madrigal said the potential impact on residents could be significant.

“For the people that live in those census tracts, this could actually be a really important problem for them,” she said.

The study also found that many affected communities include populations that have historically been underrepresented in health research and may have fewer opportunities to influence public policy decisions.

Researchers have not yet determined whether industrial facilities were built near existing communities or whether residents later moved into areas where such facilities already existed.

“We don’t quite have the answer, at least not in this study, to be able to say which comes first, the people or the pollution,” Madrigal said.

Future research will focus on understanding whether living near these facilities is directly associated with specific health outcomes and identifying ways communities can reduce potential exposure risks.

Madrigal said the findings could also help inform future policy discussions and environmental regulations.

The study was published in April in the Journal of Exposure Science and Environmental Epidemiology.