Hurricane Milton, the latest storm brewing in the Gulf of Mexico, is now a powerful Category 5 hurricane and heading for Florida’s Gulf Coast. An interactive map developed by Rice University’s Center for Coastal Futures and Adaptive Resilience (CFAR) identifies the top hazardous polluters in the storm’s projected path.
“Unfortunately, as past storms have shown us, those residing near the major polluters in Milton’s trajectory might face the true disaster in the aftermath of the storm,” said James Elliott, co-director of CFAR, department chair and the David W. Leebron Professor of Sociology at Rice. The storm is expected to impact a significant portion of Florida’s western coast, where many flood-prone polluters are active.
“This interactive map enables individuals to identify facilities that handle hazardous materials in the storm’s path,” said Dominic Boyer, CFAR co-director and a professor of anthropology at Rice. “We believe that access to this information can empower residents in the affected areas to protect themselves from potential toxins that may be dispersed by wind and flooding.”
The map tracking Milton’s projected path is accessible here. The data on major polluters come from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s 2022 Toxic Release Inventory. Each hazardous facility is represented by a dot; simply click on it to reveal the site’s name, sector, facility identification number, and total annual pollution by type of release. A map tracking the entire country is online here.
For more information or to schedule an interview with Boyer or Elliott, contact Amy McCaig, senior media relations specialist at Rice, at amym@rice.edu.