Quality of Life in American Neighborhoods: Levels of Affluence, Toxic Waste and Cancer Mortality in Residential Zip Code Areas

Information, never before available, on levels of affluence and the quality of life in every Zip code area in which Americans reside is contained in this book. The Council On Economic Priorities (CEP), a non-profit research agency committed to the exploration of issues of corporate social responsibility, has been engaged in a study of the relationship between the generation and disposal of toxic waste and the regional variation in cancer mortality rates for some time. A CEP study, Toxic Waste and Cancer: The Link ls Getting Stronger (published in September, 1984), established a small but statistically significant association between cancer and toxic waste at the county level. For small counties with petrochemical concentrations, the association appeared to be particularly high. CEP chose therefore to continue its studies at the 5 digit Zip code level, because the average 5 digit Zip code area is one-tenth the size of the typical county.