Nation IN BRIEF : WASHINGTON, D.C. : EPA Report Links Poverty, Pollution

The Environmental Protection Agency reported on its study of whether minorities are unfairly victimized by environmental pollution. The EPA task force report cited “clear cause for concern” about many minorities’ exposure to pollution, but said the impact on their health was unclear. The report did not single out race as a deciding factor, but suggested that poverty may be the issue, and that closer attention should be given to “environmental equity” in regulations. The study found that EPA risk-assessment procedures “are not in themselves biased against certain income or racial groups.”