Coverage of National Priority List sites by the print media during the implementation of Superfund: the role of race and income

We review 1982–1984 articles identifying Superfund sites in three national newspapers. Articles almost never identify the race of nearby residents. Based on sites receiving disproportionate coverage, readers might conclude that Superfund generally affected white, working-class families, but results do not support this narrative. In a pooled sample, neither race nor income predicts the number of times a site gets mentioned. When the sample is partitioned by newspaper or by each newspaper's coverage of nearby sites, a positive relationship emerges between the proportion of Hispanic or nonwhite residents and the number of articles about a site. We discuss this apparent contradiction.

The presence of Superfund sites as a determinant of life expectancy in the United States

Superfund sites could affect life expectancy (LE) via increasing the likelihood of exposure to toxic chemicals. Here, we assess to what extent such presence could alter the LE independently and in the context of sociodemographic determinants. A nationwide geocoded statistical modeling at the census tract level was undertaken to estimate the magnitude of impact. Results showed a significant difference in LE among census tracts with at least one Superfund site and their neighboring tracts with no sites. The presence of a Superfund site could cause a decrease of −0.186 ± 0.027 years in LE. This adverse effect could be as high as −1.22 years in tracts with Superfund sites and high sociodemographic disadvantage. Specific characteristics of Superfund sites such as being prone to flooding and the absence of a cleanup strategy could amplify the adverse effect. Furthermore, the presence of Superfund sites amplifies the negative influence of sociodemographic factors at lower LEs.

Framing the Postmodern Waste Land

The “Postmodern Waste Land” explores the way mining operations and other industrial processes have affected the Earth’s surface, leaving scarred mountainsides, polluted rivers, and residual poisons that will remain in the earth for centuries. Superfund sites are the subject of David T. Hanson’s photographic surveys, while Edward Burtynsky has dramatized the way the wilderness has been destroyed through oil drilling and mining. The earlier history of ecological photography is covered as well, through a discussion of the opposing strategies of mid-twentieth century environmental photography—on one hand, the representation of the exploited landscape, and on the other hand the celebration of the natural world, as in photographs of Ansel Adams.