A nationwide ranking says Kansas is among the most-polluted states.
A spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, however, says the Sunflower State is doing better than average in two key metrics.
Jill Bronaugh, communications director for the KDHE, in a email last week to The Capital-Journal addressed assertions made by U.S. News & World Report.
U.S. News published rankings saying Kansas is the nation’s ninth-most polluted state and has the second-highest long-term, chronic health risk from pollution, behind only Oregon.
Here’s what U.S. News & World Report looked at
U.S. News gathered data regarding pollution and the environment while creating the “Best States for 2025” assessment it published last year on its website. Kansas finished 25th overall on that list.
In compiling the Best States list, U.S. News assessed each of the 50 states using 71 metrics across eight categories, which were health care, education, natural environment, opportunity, economy, fiscal stability, infrastructure and crime/corrections.
Kansas finished ninth-worst nationwide in terms of pollution, second-worst in terms of chronic health risks and 11th-best in terms of having low toxic chemical pollution, U.S. News said.
Here’s what U.S. News looked at regarding pollution health risks
U.S. News explained on its website what it looked at in determining rankings regarding pollution health risks.
“This metric captures the risk pollution poses to health per capita, using a risk score from the Environmental Protection Agency that measures long-term, chronic human health effects of toxic chemical pollution, such as birth defects and cancer,” it said.
The measurement encapsulates the impact of pollution from manufacturing, mining, electric power generation and hazardous waste treatment but does not include pollution from agriculture, transportation and such small facilities as dry cleaners and auto body shops, U.S. News said.
The Kansas Department of Health and Environment responds
Based on the methodology U.S. News used for its rankings, Kansas ranked below the national average for violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act accrued by public water supply systems over a five-year period per 1,000 customers served, Bronaugh said.
“Ninety-seven percent of Kansans served by a public water supply drink water in compliance with all Safe Drinking Water Act standards,” she said.
