Forbes has ranked Raleigh as the 3rd least toxic city in the United States. Good news: #1 in water quality. Bad: # 41 in air.
Forbes created the ranking of 80 US metro areas based upon five equally-weighted factors: the Air Quality Index and the Toxic Release Inventory compiled by the EPA; Sperling’s Health Index for each metro’s water quality and air quality ratings; and the number of Superfund sites, which the EPA defines as “uncontrolled or abandoned places where hazardous waste is located, possibly affecting local ecosystems or people.”