UIS Researcher Joins National Study

A nationwide study released this year and led in part by a University of Illinois Springfield faculty member found that people living in lower-income communities and communities of color are more likely to live near sites where industries dispose of cancer-causing chemicals.

Jessica M. Madrigal, associate professor in the School of Integrated Sciences, Sustainability and Public Health in the UIS College of Health, Science and Technology, contributed to the research, which was published April 23, 2026, in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology. The study was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institutes of Health’s National Cancer Institute.

Researchers examined data from across the United States between 2010 and 2018, using the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Toxics Release Program to identify where companies disposed of known and suspected cancer-causing chemicals on land. Those disposal methods included landfills and underground wells.

The research team then compared the disposal data with demographic information from the census tracts where the sites are located.

The study found that millions of pounds of chemicals known or suspected to cause cancer are disposed of on land each year. Many of those chemicals, including asbestos and metals such as beryllium, cadmium and nickel, are left at or near the sites where they are produced.

Researchers also identified patterns in the communities located near those disposal sites. Areas with higher poverty levels, along with communities with more Black and Hispanic residents, were more likely to be near higher levels of toxic chemical disposal.

“We estimated that 5.3 million people live in the census tracts where these disposals take place; these disposals occurred most frequently in tracts with higher proportions of population with higher levels of poverty, which is consistent with our prior studies of carcinogenic air emissions,” Madrigal said.

Previous research has linked exposure to some of the chemicals examined in the study to serious health problems, including cancer, asthma and adverse birth outcomes.

The study also found that many of the highest levels of chemical disposal occur in parts of the southern and western United States, pointing to regional differences in environmental exposure.

Researchers said the findings show the need for greater attention to how and where industrial waste is managed. While much of the research on environmental exposure has focused on air pollution, the study found that land disposal is also an important and often overlooked source of potential exposure.

“Until now, little has been summarized about the chemicals contained at industrial disposal sites,” Madrigal said. “These sites are regulated, meaning that facilities must follow several protective measures intended to limit the potential for human exposure to the contents of the disposal site. The potential for exposure among those that live in close proximity to these sites may vary by compound and by characteristics of the disposal site, including age, operation, and management practices.”

The research highlights the value of nationwide data in better understanding long-term exposure risks and helping guide public health and policy decisions.

Other authors include Jared A. Fisher, Barry I. Graubard, Rena R. Jones, Caroline N. Pruitt, Elizabeth Sharp and Mary H. Ward of the National Cancer Institute; and Abigail R. Flory of Westat Inc.