Discussion

The results show an overall trend between PM_2.5 and lung and bronchus cancer incidence rate. However, they were not conclusive to people of color being more susceptible. White demographics in all three metropolitan areas superposed the norm represented by counter ethnicities. Outlier counties such as El Paso, there is a higher PM_2.5 density but a lower cancer rate, indicating PM_2.5 is not the only contributing factor to lung and bronchus cancer rates. This could potentially attribute to the overrepresentation of the white demographic in Texas county's.

As established above, PM_2.5 is not the only contributing factor to lung and bronchus cancer. The following are factors we believe might contribute to this epidemic.

• Access to Healthcare

  • Do the different levels of accessibility to healthcare across ethnic groups predispose some to cancer? How does this affect the representation of cancer cases per ethnicity?

  • Equitable access to healthcare proves to be a promising segue to further investigate cancer rates based on ethnicity.

• Age

  • Can age be a factor of susceptibility for lung cancer?

  • As we age, our bodies develop an increased risk of disease. Further investigation could establish whether or not a person's age is an independent variable.

• Zoning Laws

  • Are lung cancer rates higher in residential areas that are in or near industrial zones? Do places with high cancer rates lack zoning laws? Who lives within these areas?

  • Investigation of zoning laws, or lack there of, could help establish a trend between cancer rates and residential proximity to industrial zones. This also opens the study of what ethic groups are most affected by said zoning laws.

• Refinery Emission Regulations

  • Are cancer rates associated with refinery locations that release an excess amount of chemicals/pollutants?

  • By investigating the amount of emissions refineries release (and whether they exceed the EPA regulations) we could plot the data with cancer rates to determine its correlation.

• Other Lung and Bronchus Cancer Causing Pollutants

  • Are there pollutants that are more high risk for contacting lung cancer?

  • eg. Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2), Sulfur Dioxide (SO2), Ozone (O3), Carbon Monoxide (CO), etc.