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EPA: Madison County residents at high risk for cancer

By AP/KWMU

Washington – People in part of Madison County, Illinois are breathing concentrations of toxic air pollutants that put them at a much greater risk of cancer than other Americans.

That's according to new data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Some people in Madison County have an 1100 in 1 million chance of getting cancer.

The EPA says the average cancer risk across the country is 36 in 1 million.

Madison County's cancer risk is a close second to parts of Los Angeles.

The data cover pollution from 80 cancer-causing substances emitted in 2002.

However since the last update, which covered 1999 pollution, the cancer risk nationwide has declined slightly.

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