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Aim <p>In the United States, approximately 21 million people live within 1 mile of a Superfund site, facing an increased risk of exposure to harmful chemicals. Public-facing information about these environmental hazards and their status is available on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Superfund website. However, the reading levels required to understand this information have not been previously studied.</p> Subject and methods <p>This cross-sectional study evaluated the readability of information from 282 Superfund sites in the New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey tri-state areas on the USEPA website. We analyzed mean scores from three readability indexes (Gunning Fog, SMOG, and Flesch–Kincaid) across all sites. Additionally, we used independent sample <i>t</i>-tests to compare readability scores among sites with “resolved” and “unresolved” contamination cases within each state and collectively.</p> Results <p>Our findings show an average readability score of 14.19 for all sites, significantly higher than the National Institutes of Health recommended 6th-grade level for public health information. Overall, “unresolved” cases (<i>n</i> = 134) in the tri-state area had significantly higher readability scores than “resolved” cases (<i>n</i> = 148) (t(280) = 4.105, <i>p</i> &lt; .001). State-specific analyses revealed significant differences in New York (<i>p</i> = .014), while no significant differences were observed in New Jersey or Connecticut.</p> Conclusion <p>This study highlights that Superfund information published by the USEPA often exceeds the reading comprehension abilities of the general public, creating barriers to understanding critical health-related risks, particularly for residents near unresolved sites, which disproportionately affects vulnerable communities and exacerbates existing health disparities.</p>

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Readability of Superfund information: an assessment of public health literacy in a tri-state area of the United States

  • 期刊论文

  • 发表日期：

    2025年8月1日

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  • Erin Toussaint Jacques,
  • Dawn Roberts-Semple,
  • Shellon Blackman-Lees

摘要

Aim

In the United States, approximately 21 million people live within 1 mile of a Superfund site, facing an increased risk of exposure to harmful chemicals. Public-facing information about these environmental hazards and their status is available on the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s (USEPA) Superfund website. However, the reading levels required to understand this information have not been previously studied.

Subject and methods

This cross-sectional study evaluated the readability of information from 282 Superfund sites in the New York, Connecticut, and New Jersey tri-state areas on the USEPA website. We analyzed mean scores from three readability indexes (Gunning Fog, SMOG, and Flesch–Kincaid) across all sites. Additionally, we used independent sample t-tests to compare readability scores among sites with “resolved” and “unresolved” contamination cases within each state and collectively.

Results

Our findings show an average readability score of 14.19 for all sites, significantly higher than the National Institutes of Health recommended 6th-grade level for public health information. Overall, “unresolved” cases (n = 134) in the tri-state area had significantly higher readability scores than “resolved” cases (n = 148) (t(280) = 4.105, p < .001). State-specific analyses revealed significant differences in New York (p = .014), while no significant differences were observed in New Jersey or Connecticut.

Conclusion

This study highlights that Superfund information published by the USEPA often exceeds the reading comprehension abilities of the general public, creating barriers to understanding critical health-related risks, particularly for residents near unresolved sites, which disproportionately affects vulnerable communities and exacerbates existing health disparities.