Poisonous Homes

The report documents a crisis where approximately 77,000 people in federally assisted housing live on or near Superfund sites, arguing that environmental racism has historically driven the siting of affordable housing in contaminated areas. It identifies critical failures in interagency coordination between HUD and the EPA, including a lack of resident notification and inadequate housing inspections. Through case studies in East Chicago, Portsmouth, and other cities, the report illustrates the health impacts of lead and arsenic exposure and the struggle for community-led relocation. It concludes with comprehensive recommendations for interagency accountability, mandatory hazard disclosure, and the integration of health interventions for exposed residents.

• A significant proportion of the most contaminated sites in the U.S. are located near federally assisted housing, with 70% of hazardous waste sites on the National Priorities List (NPL) situated within one mile of such housing.
• Environmental racism and historical segregation policies influenced the siting of affordable housing, intentionally placing Black and Brown communities in proximity to toxic waste and industrial pollutants.
• There is a critical lack of coordination between the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), resulting in failures to notify families of contamination and a lack of environmental health checks during housing inspections.
• The Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program, a primary source of new affordable housing, is exempt from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) requirements, allowing units to be built without formal environmental reviews.
• In East Chicago, Indiana, residents of the West Calumet Public Housing Complex lived for over 40 years without knowing their soil was contaminated with lead and arsenic, leading to high rates of childhood lead poisoning.
• In Portsmouth, Virginia, the Washington Park Public Housing Project was intentionally sited near an active foundry, and residents fought for a decade to secure relocation vouchers after discovering severe lead contamination.
• The EPA's Superfund process is hindered by insufficient funding following the 1995 expiration of the Superfund tax, which slows remediation and gives polluting parties more control over the cleanup process.
• Racial and economic disparities exist in the Superfund designation process; communities with higher minority and poverty rates are significantly less likely to be listed as Superfund sites.
• The report recommends that the federal government mandate actual notice of environmental hazards to tenants and applicants of federally assisted housing and allow for rent abatement where hazards are identified.

APA

Earthjustice (2020). Poisonous Homes. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/environmental_justice_report_final-rev2.pdf

Chicago

Earthjustice. Poisonous Homes. 2020. https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/environmental_justice_report_final-rev2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Earthjustice |title=Poisonous Homes |date=June 2020 |url=https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/environmental_justice_report_final-rev2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{earthjustice2020poisonous, author = {{Earthjustice}}, title = {{Poisonous Homes}}, institution = {Earthjustice}, year = {2020}, month = jun, url = {https://earthjustice.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/environmental_justice_report_final-rev2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }