Rising sea levels pose threat to hundreds of hazardous sites in California, study warns.
Rising sea levels due to climate change could put hundreds of hazardous industrial sites in California, including oil refineries and sewage-treatment plants, at risk of severe flooding by 2050, according to a study by researchers from the University of California at Los Angeles and Berkeley, as well as Climate Central. The study also found that people living within a kilometer of these sites tend to be more vulnerable, including people of color, the elderly, unemployed, and low-income communities. The number of at-risk toxic sites could increase to 423 by the end of the century, and the disadvantaged population around those sites is expected to grow as well.