Checked Oct 22, 2026

Air Toxics Cancer Risk in Alaska

EPA AirToxScreen, 2020 emissions

Average cancer risk: 30 in a million; 2020 emissions (latest EPA release)
Population: 723,440
Counties: 28
Highest county: Anchorage; 50 in a million

By county

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County	Total risk	Industrial point sources	Vehicles	Population
Aleutians East	7 in a million	0.044 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	3,420
Aleutians West	7 in a million	0.013 in a million	0.027 in a million	5,000
Anchorage	50 in a million	0.03 in a million	4.5 in a million	291,247
Bethel	9 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.024 in a million	18,666
Bristol Bay	9 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.028 in a million	844
Denali	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.041 in a million	1,619
Dillingham	9 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.056 in a million	4,857
Fairbanks North Star	40 in a million	0.12 in a million	1.2 in a million	95,655
Haines	9 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.092 in a million	2,080
Hoonah-Angoon	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.013 in a million	2,365
Juneau	10 in a million	0.025 in a million	0.21 in a million	32,255
Kenai Peninsula	20 in a million	0.13 in a million	0.24 in a million	58,799
Ketchikan Gateway	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.14 in a million	13,948
Kodiak Island	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.06 in a million	13,101
Kusilvak	8 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	8,368
Lake and Peninsula	9 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.015 in a million	1,476
Matanuska-Susitna	20 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.89 in a million	107,081
Nome	7 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.036 in a million	10,046
North Slope	8 in a million	0.018 in a million	0.02 in a million	11,031
Northwest Arctic	8 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.068 in a million	7,793
Petersburg	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.048 in a million	3,398
Prince of Wales-Hyder	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.014 in a million	5,753
Sitka	9 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.072 in a million	8,458
Skagway	8 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.068 in a million	1,240
Southeast Fairbanks	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.037 in a million	6,808
Wrangell	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.039 in a million	2,127
Yakutat	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.014 in a million	662
Yukon-Koyukuk	10 in a million	Less than 0.01 in a million	0.011 in a million	5,343

Top pollutants in Alaska

Largest contributors to the modeled cancer risk

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Pollutant	Cancer risk
Formaldehyde	11.7 in a million
Naphthalene	5.5 in a million
Carbon Tetrachloride	3.1 in a million
Benzene	2.9 in a million
PAH/POM (polycyclic organic matter)	2.5 in a million
Acetaldehyde	1.7 in a million
1,3-Butadiene	1.5 in a million
Ethylbenzene	0.36 in a million
Benzo[a]pyrene	0.12 in a million
Nickel Compounds	0.1 in a million
Arsenic compounds	0.091 in a million
Acrylonitrile	0.041 in a million

AirToxScreen is EPA's screening estimate of the added lifetime cancer risk from breathing outdoor air toxics, modeled for the year shown. A risk of 30 in a million means that, if 1 million people breathed this air for 70 years, about 30 more might get cancer than otherwise. The estimates are averages for the population of an area, not measurements, and they do not cover indoor air, diesel particulate matter or other exposures. EPA rounds the total risk to one or two significant figures; the source and pollutant numbers are unrounded, so they do not always add up to the total. EPA advises against using these results to compare places or to judge risk for one person.

Source: U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, AirToxScreen 2020 · Last updated 12/31/2020

AirToxScreen (Air Toxics Screening Assessment)U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · Official site

Data as of 12/31/2020

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Where the risk comes from in Alaska

Estimated lifetime cancer risk per million people, by type of source

Small and area sources (nonpoint)6.2 in a million20.9%
Formed in the air (secondary)5.8 in a million19.6%
Residential wood burning5.2 in a million17.5%
Background3.8 in a million13.0%
Nonroad engines, ships, trains and airports3.2 in a million10.7%
Cars, trucks and buses2.1 in a million7.2%
Natural vegetation (biogenic)1.7 in a million5.6%
Wildfires and prescribed fires1.6 in a million5.3%
Industrial and other stationary point sources0.042 in a million0.1%

More about Alaska

Related data

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