WASHINGTON, March 22 (UPI) -- Twenty years after a landmark
study proved a link between hazardous-waste sites and minority
neighborhoods, the phenomenon has only settled deeper into U.S.
towns and cities, a new report says. What's more, the racial
differences are much greater than previously thought, according
to "Toxic Wastes and Race at Twenty," a preliminary anniversary
report released today. The full report will be made public on
April 22, Earth Day. The updated report found more than 9
million Americans live in neighborhoods within about 2 miles of
the 413 commercial hazardous-waste facilities in the United
States. "When we think of the U.S. in the 21st century, we think
we've made a great deal of progress in environmental protection
and civil rights," said David Pellow, a sociologist and
professor of ethnic studies at the University of California, San
Diego. "This suggests the opposite, and it's quite
disheartening." The original 1987 report, sponsored by the
United Church of Christ Commission for Racia