Smog and cancer risk highest in L.A.

Los Angeles County residents face nearly twice the risk of cancer from air pollution compared with the rest of the nation, with a slice of Cerritos facing the greatest potential harm, according to a federal study released Wednesday. Dana Bartholomew and Susan Abramn in the Daily News.

The Environmental Protection Agency reported that county residents face a 63-in-a-million cancer risk from 80 toxic chemicals released by cars, factories and similar polluters.

The average cancer risk across the country is 36-in-1 million, according to the report, which is based on 2002 data, the most recent available.

That's an improvement from the 2006 report which, based on 1999 emissions, calculated a 42-in-a-million cancer risk.