Four ZIP codes in Long Beach ranked in top 5 percent in the state for being worst polluted

Four ZIP codes in Long Beach (west, north and downtown Long Beach) are ranked as being in the top 5 percent in the state with the worst combined "burdens and vulnerabilities" from pollution, other environmental factors and population characteristics, according to a new pollution-tracking tool released by the California Environmental Protection Agency (Cal EPA) 
Cal EPA, which released its CalEnviroScreen 1.0 system on April 23, states that each ZIP code's CalEnviro Screen score has been calculated from data on about 11 types of pollution and environmental factors and seven population characteristics and socioeconomic factors. 
The screening tool, developed by Cal EPA and the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment, identifies California communities that are "disproportionately burdened by multiple sources of pollution and most vulnerable to its effects." CalEnviro Screen scores range from 0 to 100 with the higher the score the worse the pollution.
The map shows that in Long Beach there are four ZIP codes (90813, 90810, 90806 and 90805) with top 5-percent highest scores in the state. The CalEnviro Screen scores for those ZIP codes range from 51 to 57. Signal Hill, which is surrounded by Long Beach and has the ZIP code 90755, has a score of 28.91.
Approximately half of the ZIP codes that ranked in the top 10 percent are in the greater Los Angeles area, including the Inland Empire, according to a statement from Cal EPA. The San Joaquin Valley contains another 29 percent of the most vulnerable communities.
CalEPA states that the tool is expected to "help state decision-makers prioritize resources to target grants, investments, cleanup efforts and enforcement actions to the state’s most disadvantaged communities."

For more info, here's a link: http://www.oehha.ca.gov/ej/ces042313.html