In the hills northwest of Los Angeles, a contaminated nuclear and rocket testing site has quietly shaped the health and psychology of the affluent communities surrounding it — a reminder that environmental harm does not negotiate with wealth. Researchers at the University of Southern California found that residents living closest to the Santa Susana Field Laboratory report autoimmune and metabolic disorders at rates far exceeding those of neighbors living farther away, collapsing the assumption that prosperity confers protection. What emerged from the study was not only a geographic pattern of
Wealthy Californians Near Nuclear Site Report Higher Chronic Illness Rates
Residents near the site report elevated rates of autoimmune, metabolic, and endocrine disorders, with over one-third reporting chronic diagnoses since moving to the area.