As if high unemployment and a massive corruption probe with tentacles stretching beyond the borders of Cuyahoga County weren’t enough, now a portion of Northeast Ohio has a new claim to fame.

That’s right — we’re one of the top toxic cities in the country.

Forbes magazine, the same magazine that tells us who are the richest in America and most profitable corporations, has released a listing of the most toxic cities, and the metropolitan area that includes Cleveland, Lorain, Elyria and Mentor was ranked No. 6 in a list of 40.

The metro areas of Atlanta, Detroit, Chicago, Houston and Philadelphia topped the list as the most toxic cities.

With more than 24,000 pounds of toxins being released in this area yearly, the region is highly polluted, according to Forbes.

To determine which cities are most toxic, Forbes looked at the country’s 40 largest metropolitan statistical areas — geographic entities that the U.S. Office of Management and Budget defines and uses in collecting statistics — based on data provided by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

After that, it counted the number of facilities that reported releasing toxins into the environment; the total pounds of certain toxic chemicals released into the air; water and earth; the days per year that air pollution exceeded safe levels, and the total number of Superfund sites — contaminated areas that the federal government has designated for cleanup efforts — in each metro area’s main city.

Looking at the criteria the Forbes study used to make its rankings, Mike Settles, spokesman for the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, said no one should be surprised the Cleveland area is on the list.

“This is simply because of the industrial past we had in this state,” he said. “We are the industrial heartland of America. The development of this country is largely credited to what occurred in areas like Elyria and Cleveland and Cincinnati.”

Because of the nature of the Cleveland area, Settles said many Superfund and brownfield sites are still in the area, as well as a lot of industries that are putting out emissions. But the focus should not be on the number of possible pollution sites, but the work the state and federal agencies are doing to remedy the problem.

In the last 30 years, the EPA has developed many programs to address air, water and soil pollution, Settles said.

“And I think most people will agree we have made great strides,” he said.

Forbes said the EPA expects that it will cost $10.5 billion in federal money in 2010 to improve the U.S. environment’s health in general and to craft clean energy solutions.

Still, state funds that have been available in the past have trickled down to help with some of the problems in Elyria. In 2008, Elyria received several hundred thousand dollars to assess how to go about cleaning up brownfield sites in the city.

Contact Lisa Roberson at 329-7121 or lroberson@chroniclet.com.

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