Pollution In Your Area

NYC Environmental Public Health and Sustainability Tracking Portal

The NYC Environmental Public Health and Sustainability Tracking Portal is a new interactive tool launched by NYC that enables users to access data and information about the environment, health and sustainability in NYC. It allows you to create reports, tables, charts and maps on these topics:

  • Neighborhood, Housing and Water Quality
  • Health Outcomes and Human Exposures
  • Outdoor Air and Weather
  • Pests and Pesticides
  • Sustainability Indicators

To view environmental and health profiles of NYC neighborhoods CLICK HERE.

EpiQuery is an easy-to-navigate database that tracks health indicators such as the prevalence of asthma, lead poisoning and obesity rates by neighborhood.

The Tracking Portal has also recently expanded to include neighborhood data on restaurant grades, alcohol drinking, alcohol sales outlets, obesity and physical activity. You can also learn more about possible links between environmental and health data. More years of data are now available. The NYC Tracking Program is part of the national Environmental Public Health Tracking Network. For more information, click on the link to the CDC Tracking Program below.

Scorecard

Over 4 billion pounds of toxic chemicals are released by industry into the nation’s environment each year, including 72 million pounds of recognized carcinogens. Scorecard can give you a detailed report on chemicals being released from any of 20,000 industrial facilities, or a summary report for any area in the country.

Scorecard spotlights the top polluters in the U.S., and ranks states and counties by pollutant releases. Find environmental information about your community: learn how bad the pollution is, where the toxic chemicals come from, what the health risks are, and more.

Provide your zipcode to get a report for your community, or use the Pollution Locator to search for reports on specific areas.

Scorecard is sponsored by GoodGuide, the world’s largest and most reliable source of information on the health, environmental, and social impacts of consumer products.

 

MyEnvironment is an application built by the EPA to help the public get a sense of environmental indicators in their neighborhood. By keying in a geography, the application comes back with information about the local land, air and water. It mines mostly EPA but also other federal Agency databases. The latest enhancement was the addition of environmental shout outs. Within the context of MyEnvironment – shout outs are a means of crowdsourcing inspirational environmental activities that are happening at the neighborhood-level. The intention is that as people are learning about air and water quality in their neighborhood, they can simultaneously learn about what their neighbors are up with regard to river cleanups, e-cycling efforts and other good-for-the-environment activities.

 

Envirofacts is a single point of access to select EPA environmental data on pollution, hazardous waste sites, and other regulatory information. This website provides access to several EPA databases to provide you with information about environmental activities that may affect air, water, and land anywhere in the United States. With Envirofacts, you can learn more about these environmental activities in your area or you can generate maps of environmental information.

Information in Envirofacts is accessible in a variety of ways from our homepage. EPA suggests that users unfamiliar with Envirofacts begin with Quick Start. This feature allows you to retrieve a sampling of information pertaining to your area by entering a specific ZIP Code, City and State, or County and State. If you want more in-depth information about a particular subject area, you may select from a list of available Topics, which includes Waste, Water, Toxics, Air, Radiation, Land, Other, and Maps. If you are an experienced user, however, you may be interested in our Advanced Capabilities option. This option will allow you to go directly to the Queries, Maps, or Reports feature that interests you.

 

TRI is an EPA database containing data on disposal or other releases of over 650 toxic chemicals from thousands of U.S. facilities and information about how facilities manage those chemicals through recycling, energy recovery, and treatment in your neighborhood. One of TRI’s primary purposes is to inform communities about toxic chemical releases to the environment. For information about TRI chemical releases in your neighborhood all you have to do is enter your zip code.

 

Accidents, spills, leaks, and past improper disposal and handling of hazardous materials and wastes have resulted in tens of thousands of sites across our country that have contaminated our land, water (groundwater and surface water), and air (indoor and outdoor). EPA and its state and territorial partners have developed a variety of cleanup programs to assess and, where necessary, clean up these contaminated sites. Cleanups may be done by EPA, other federal agencies, states or municipalities, or the company or party responsible for the contamination.

Cleanups in My Community maps and list areas where superfund, brownfields, or RCRA corrective action sites, properties, or federal facilities are being or has been cleaned up throughout the United States.

What cleanups are included:

  • Superfund National Priority List (NPL) sites, RCRA Corrective Actions (CA) and Brownfields properties
  • Federal facilities under EPA’s cleanup programs
  • Removals from EPA’s epaosc.net site
  • Filtering based on Institutional and Engineering Controls, and Environmental indicators where the data are available

What is not included (but please contact us if these are of interest to you):

  • State cleanups
  • Non-NPL Superfund sites
  • Non-Corrective Action RCRA sites
  • Renewable energy potential at sites
  • Cleanups of leaking underground storage tanks
  • National Response Center spills
  • Other types of sites

Other boundaries and points of interest that can be mapped with CIMC:

  • Tribal land boundaries
  • Congressional districts
  • Brownfields grant areas (with the ability to drill down to further information)
  • Water monitoring stations (with the ability to drill down to further water quality information)

EPA Map Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions From Large Emitters In America

This consumer-friendly web platform has new greenhouse gas emissions data that will help Americans search for, and sort, emissions information by geographic area and industry sector. The site has climate pollution data for about 6,700 industrial facilities, based on 2010 annual pollution discharges. Facilities include:

Power Plants, Cement Plants, Iron and Steel Producers, Landfills, Metals Manufacturing, Mineral Production, Petroleum Refineries, Pulp and Paper Manufacturing, Chemicals Manufacturing, Government and Commercial Facilities And Other Industrial Facilities

The website includes data on emissions of the following climate-disrupting pollutants: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, sulfur hexafluoride and other fluorinated gasess

EPA Drinking Water Data Search BETA Release

The Drinking Water Data Search displays compliance information and violations that have occurred at public water systems. Please note that The Safe Drinking Water program is primarily implemented by the states.

The information shown is submitted by public water systems to their state environmental agencies, who submit the data to EPA. States often have more detail in their data systems than are reported to EPA. For example, in some cases, states may report to EPA that a violation occurred, but not the magnitude of the violation. For more comprehensive data or measured values, please contact your state drinking water program.

Drinking water suppliers now provide reports (sometimes called consumer confidence reports) that tell where drinking water comes from, and what contaminants may be in it.

To view the information about your drinking water supplier that is in EPA’s database, please visit:

Envirofacts data page on New York

If your drinking water comes from a private well, you are responsible for your water’s safety.  EPA rules do not apply to private wells (although some state rules do), but EPA recommends that well owners have their water tested annually.  Contact your state to get a list of certified commercial laboratories that test drinking water.

Where does NY’s drinking water come from?

To find out about the watershed that supplies your drinking water and how to protect it, click here. If your water comes from a ground water source, read about your state’s ground water quality.

State drinking water offices

New York’s drinking water program
Bureau of Public Water Supply Protection
Department of Health
547 River Street
Troy, NY 12180-2216
518-402-7650

New York’s source water program
Bureau of Public Water Supply Protection
Dept. of Health
547 River Street
Troy, NY 12180-2216
518-402-7713

For general information on drinking water contact EPA’s Safe Drinking Water Hotline at 1-800-426-4791.

NY DEP Drinking Water Supply and Quality Report

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection releases an Annual Water Supply and Quality Report each year. This report is prepared in accordance with the New York State Sanitary Code, and the National Primary Drinking Water Regulations, promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The regulations require all drinking water suppliers to provide the public with an annual statement describing the sources and quality of its water supply.

Links Referenced in the 2010 Water Quality Report:

 

EPA’s Adopt Your Watershed program challenges you to serve your community by taking part in activities to protect and restore your local watershed. You can visit the Surf Your Watershed database of more than 2,600 watershed groups to learn about opportunities to get involved in activities such as volunteer water monitoring, stream cleanups , and storm drain marking. Once you locate your watershed, simply click on the first link, “citizen-based groups at work in this watershed,” to find a listing of organizations that are working to protect water quality. You may also wish to contact one of these groups to find out about cleanups, monitoring activities, restoration projects and other activities.

NY DEC Air Quality Index

The Air Quality Index is a method devised by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for rating each day’s air quality. The AQI numbers are associated with a color, a level of health concern and measures people should take to avoid exposure to the unhealthy air. It correlates levels of different pollutants to one scale; the higher the AQI value, the greater the health concern.

An Air Quality Action Day is announced when air quality is found to be in the unhealthy range in part or all of the New York metropolitan area. The New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is responsible for analyzing air pollution data and forecasts whether air quality will approach or exceed unhealthy levels. Based on these forecasts the New York State Department of Transportation issues an Air Quality Action Day notification. On these days, everyone in the New York metro area is asked to make special efforts, such as driving less, to reduce activities that contribute to air pollution.

AirData

EPA’s AirData website gives you access to air quality data collected at outdoor monitors across the United States, Puerto Rico, and the U. S. Virgin Islands. The data comes primarily from the AQS (Air Quality System) database. You can choose from several ways of looking at the data:

  • download data into a file (or view it on the screen)
  • output the data into one of AirData’s standard reports
  • create graphical displays using one of the visualization tools
  • investigate monitor locations using an interactive map

AirData assists a wide range of people, from the concerned citizen who wants to know how many unhealthy air quality days there were in his county last year to air quality analysts in the regulatory, academic, and health research communities who need raw data.

AirData lets you display and download monitored hourly, daily, and annual concentration data, AQI data, and speciated particle pollution data. If you need data that AirData does not have (such as emissions data) please see Other Sources of Data. Also visit the AirData Glossary for definitions of the terms used throughout the website.

Air Emissions Sources

Under the Clean Air Act, EPA establishes air quality standards to protect public health and the environment. EPA has set national air quality standards for six common air pollutants. These include:

  • carbon monoxide,
  • lead,
  • nitrogen dioxide,
  • ozone,
  • particulate matter (also known as particle pollution), and
  • sulfur dioxide.

EPA tracks the emissions from the sources of these pollutants, including how much of each pollutant (or the pollutants that form them) is emitted from various pollution sources. EPA posts the results of our analyses to this web site.

Basic Information – Information about air quality standards for the six common air pollutants, also called criteria pollutants and how EPA tracks emissions and their sources.

Air Emissions by Pollutant:

Where You Live – View state, county, and facility-level emission summaries for the six common air pollutants.

Air Quality Trends – EPA also tracks the levels of these pollutants in the ambient air. View current and historical air quality trends.

National Air Toxics Assessments (NATA) – EPA is also working with other Federal, State, local and tribal air quality agencies to achieve reductions in emissions of toxic air pollutants. NATA is EPA’s ongoing comprehensive evaluation of air toxics in the U.S.

The National Emissions Inventory

The National Emissions Inventory (NEI) is a comprehensive and detailed estimate of air emissions of both Criteria and Hazardous air pollutants from all air emissions sources. The NEI is prepared every three years by the EPA based primarily upon emission estimates and emission model inputs provided by State, Local, and Tribal air agencies for sources in their jurisdictions, and supplemented by data developed by the USEPA. Search categories include: National / State / County or Tribe,  Geographic Aggregation,  Pollutant and Industry.

EPA Radon Homepage

This US EPA homepage provides information resources and links about this gas, its health effects, and its control, a map of radon zones across the US and where to get a radon kit.

EPA Sunwise  

EPA’s SunWise Program is an environmental and health education program that aims to teach children and their caregivers how to protect themselves from overexposure to the sun. Through the use of classroom, school, and community components, SunWise seeks to develop sustained sun-safe behaviors. The Sunrise UV Index provides a forecast of the expected ultraviolet radiation from the sun.  The U.S. National Weather Service calculates the UV Index using a computer model that relates the ground-level strength of solar ultraviolet (UV) radiation to forecasted stratospheric ozone concentration, forecasted cloud amounts, and elevation of the ground.

EPA’s Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO)

Enforcement and Compliance History Online (ECHO) is a Web-based tool that provides public access to compliance and enforcement information for approximately 800,000 EPA-regulated facilities. Anyone with access to the Internet can use ECHO.

ECHO allows users to find permit, inspection, violation, enforcement action, and penalty information covering the past three years. The site includes facilities regulated as Clean Air Act stationary sources, Clean Water Act direct dischargers, and Resource Conservation and Recovery Act hazardous waste generators/handlers. The data in ECHO are updated monthly.

ECHO provides communities with important enforcement and compliance information about regulated facilities. ECHO integrates information about facilities from separate media-specific data systems. Much of this data has not been accessible in an easily understandable and searchable format, and users can now view this data in a comprehensive and organized manner. ECHO allows users to sort and analyze data in many ways, according to their needs. Now the public can monitor environmental compliance in communities, corporations can monitor compliance across facilities they own, and investors can more easily factor environmental performance into their decisions.

On ECHO you can:

  • search for facilities,
  • review state by state analytics and trends,
  • or to review contextual reports and information.

ChemHAT (Chemical Hazards and Alternatives Toolbox)

ChemHAT is a new, free tool that is designed by workers for workers to make it easier to learn about chemicals.  With ChemHAT’s searchable database, users can easily read about the scientific findings on the short and long-term health effects of over 10,000 commonly used chemicals.

Because America’s chemicals regulations were written in the 1970s and are decades out of date; we are using chemicals that can harm us. Since the federal government isn’t stepping up, ChemHAT will give you the information you need to start doing what many leading cities, states and companies are doing: Working with others to do your own chemicals policy reform by figuring out the hazard of chemicals and how to move to the use of safer alternatives.

 

The Facility Registry System (FRS) is a centrally managed database developed by EPA’s Office of Environmental Information (OEI). It provides Internet access to a single source of comprehensive information (air, water, and waste) about facilities, sites or places subject to environmental regulations or of environmental interest. The FRS contains accurate and authoritative facility identification records which are subjected to rigorous verification and data management quality assurance procedures. FRS records are continuously reviewed and enhanced by a Regional Data Steward network and active State partners. The facility records are based on information from EPA’s national program systems and State master facility records and enhanced by other Web information sources. The Central Data Exchange (CDX) registration, when fully implemented, will also be used to create and update facility identification records. FRS has over 1.5 million unique facility records linking over 2.0 million program interests such as:

  • Toxic Release Inventory Submitters (all years: 1987 – 2002)
  • Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Information (RCRAInfo)
  • Risk Management Plans (RMPs)
  • Permit Compliance System (PCS) – Majors and Minors
  • Biennial Reporting System (BRS) 1995/1997
  • Aerometric Information Retrieval System (AIRS)/AIRS Facility Subsystem
  • Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Information System (CERCLIS)
  • State master records from Pennsylvania, Utah, Mississippi, South Carolina, Nebraska, Minnesota, Ohio, Indiana, Maryland, Georgia, Oregon, Hawaii, and Washington.

Facility Registry System also includes locational information which provides accurate mapping (EnviroMapper) of the facilities regulated by EPA. Detailed facility data can be retrieved using the Facility Registry System Query. For a more focused search, use EZ Query, which enables you to individualize the investigation of data elements and structure your report by selecting from a number of predetermined views.

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