A Toxic Relationship

The document argues that rising sea levels and extreme coastal flooding threaten approximately 2,000 Superfund sites along the US East and Gulf Coasts, potentially releasing hazardous chemicals into nearby communities. It highlights that these risks disproportionately affect communities of color and low-income households, who are more likely to live near these sites. The authors criticize the Trump administration for sidelining climate science and rescinding resilience-focused executive orders, and they recommend a new executive order and interagency coordination to integrate climate science into Superfund site risk assessments.

• Approximately 2,000 official and potential Superfund sites are located within 25 miles of the US East or Gulf Coast, with Florida, New Jersey, and New York identified as particular hotspots.
• Under a high sea level rise scenario by 2100, 1,018 Superfund sites (71% of those within 10 miles of the East or Gulf Coast) would be at risk of flooding. Even under a low sea level rise scenario, 876 sites would be at risk within the next 20 years.
• Superfund site flooding disproportionately affects vulnerable populations; in the high sea level rise scenario, nearly 2.5 million more people of color than expected live within five miles of an at-risk site. Additionally, between 300,000 and 2.5 million more low-income households than expected are at risk depending on the sea level rise scenario.
• Past events demonstrate that extreme flooding can compromise chemical containment, such as Hurricane Harvey's impact on the San Jacinto Waste Pits in Texas and Hurricane Irene's impact on the American Cyanamid site in New Jersey.
• The Trump administration is accused of undermining climate resilience by rescinding Executive Order 13690, which required new federal infrastructure to incorporate climate change into flood risk planning, and by sidelining federal climate scientists.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2020). A Toxic Relationship. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/a-toxic-relationship.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. A Toxic Relationship. 2020. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/a-toxic-relationship.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=A Toxic Relationship |date=July 2020 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/a-toxic-relationship.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2020toxic, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{A Toxic Relationship}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2020}, month = jul, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2020-07/a-toxic-relationship.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }