EPA Community Health Profile

Review a recent profile of community health in East Palo Alto by clicking here.

Read about the EPA Community Health Roundtable that was responsible for producing this report by clicking here.

Here are a few facts regarding the health of East Palo Alto residents:

East Palo Alto has nearly the lowest ratio of city parks per capita in San Mateo County: ½ acre versus 37 acres per capita in Belmont. The city of East Palo Alto has close to $1 million in Park-in-Lieu fees collected that could be joined with other money and spent on the development of fields. Unfortunately, there is no plan to do this currently.

Rates of asthma and other respiratory diseases are higher in East Palo Alto than in the rest of San Mateo County. While the reasons for these higher rates are not known, poor air quality is known to contribute to asthma and respiratory problems. it has been speculated that high traffic volumes in East Palo Alto and industrial operations in the eastern portion of the City may negatively impact air quality. Regulatory agencies do not currently monitor air quality in East Palo Alto.

In 1983, when the City of East Palo Alto became incorporated, residents gained direct control over our community for the first time. Since then, the city has struggled with a land-use jigsaw puzzle created by years of discriminatory policies that shaped the city to be Silicon Valley’s dumping ground. Tracks of land that were and are host to a railspur right of way, auto wrecking yards, negligent chemical waste facilities, and the county dump remain contaminated by toxic substances including arsenic, chromium, pesticides, herbicides, and chlorinated solvents. East Palo Alto suffers from many environmental problems, like ground water contamination, contaminated land, air pollution, and corporate polluters. These hazardous problems could all be negatively affecting people’s health