Politics & Government
How Bad is Petaluma Pollution? See What New State Figures Say
State officials have released figures on every zip code in the state showing which communities are most at risk from pollution. See how Petaluma and other Sonoma towns rank using the interactive map below.
How at risk are Petaluma residents from pollution compared to other cities in the state? According to the state officials, the city is slightly below the average California town.
Based on new state figures released this month, Petaluma's two zip codes are in the lower half of California zip codes in terms of being at potential for health risks stemming from pollution of all sorts. The city's 94952 ranks in the 46 to 50 percentile of all California zip codes while 94954 fares slightly worse in the 41 to 45 percentile.
See a map of the data for every town in the state here
Find out what's happening in Petalumafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
The figures come from a new state report issued by the California Environmental Protection Agency and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment (OEHHA) that compiles health risks based on 11 types of pollution and factors in seven categories of population and demographic factors, including poverty and education levels.
The purpose of the report is to identify communities that are eligible for grants from the state's Greenhouse Gas Reduction Fund, according to Sam Delson, an OEHHA spokesman. The law governing that fund mandates certain percentages be spent on disadvantaged communities, making it necessary to include economic factors in the state report.
Find out what's happening in Petalumafor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Unfortunately for Petaluma, only cities that rank in the bottom 10 percent will qualify.
The state has a map of those communities that are eligible on the report website.
The map above shows scores from each of those categories as well as overall rankings for every zip code in California with a Patch publication. Simply click on any town to see the full report card for each zip code.
You can see a similar map showing every zip code in the state here, and see more details of the report on the state's website.
In general, Petaluma fares poorly on the metrics having to do with solid waste and groundwater while ranking well in air pollution and poverty metrics.
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