Understanding the correlation between various pollutants and Cancer across geographical clusters in the U.S.

Abstract

In the United States, chemical, water, and air pollution all severely undermine marine and human life. Inhaling these pollutants may affect vital organs, including the heart, brain, and liver because of their harmful properties. Many prior studies have shown that pollutants can increase the risk of life-threatening disease in humans. This study, performed at a state/regional granularity, explored whether different types of pollutants increase Cancer incidence rate. The endeavor of this project was to determine the strength of the correlation between the prevalence of certain types of Cancer and environmental factors across specific regions in the United States using the Pearson Correlation Metric as a mathematical tool across three years (2018-2020). 36 different types of Cancer (e.g. Cervix, Hodgkin Lymphoma, Leukemia) and 12 pollutant metrics (e.g. Ozone, Lead, Total toxic pounds in Majors) were analyzed using publicly available data, cleaned and processed through a python script. Our research has shown that certain clusters in the United States showcase a strong correlation between different environmental pollutants and certain types of Cancers. For example, in the Southwest region, there is a strong correlation between Days PM2.5 (air pollutant) and Hodgkin Lymphoma (Cancer type). These findings can potentially help prevent premature deaths caused by Cancer and help explain why certain clusters in the United States have abnormally high Cancer-incidence rates compared to other clusters.