Scope
For EJAM v3, “Island Areas” means American Samoa (AS), Guam (GU), the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (MP), and the U.S. Virgin Islands (VI). Puerto Rico is not treated as an Island Area for this purpose because Puerto Rico is included in both Census 2020 and ACS data used by EJAM. The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands (UM) are not included in EJSCREEN/EJAM.
EJAM v3 includes AS/GU/MP/VI at the blockgroup dataset, EJSCREEN export, and map-data visibility level. Demographic fields are kept as missing where ACS data are not available, and partial EPA environmental fields may be present where EPA provided them.
The annual/release pipeline uses the archived EPA EJScreen 2024 v2.32
ACS2022 reference file as the current source for AS/GU/MP/VI blockgroup
row IDs, area fields, and available environmental fields. The expected
Island Area blockgroup counts are 77 for AS, 58 for GU, 135 for MP, and
416 for VI (686 total). By default, 2020 Island Areas Census DHC
demographic values are not used in bg_acsdata or downstream
EJSCREEN-compatible outputs.
EJAM v3 does not add Island Area Census blocks to the block helper files used for point-buffer/radius analysis. A report or radius analysis in an Island Area should not crash, but should normally return no-data results when no block centroids are available in the area analyzed.
Census Places
The EJAM censusplaces dataset is built from the Census
Bureau PLACElist source. As checked in May 2026, that source did not
include city, town, or CDP rows for AS/GU/MP/VI. As a result, EJAM’s
city/place picker should not be expected to offer Island Area places
unless the source data and related selection logic are updated and
validated later.
This is a coverage note only. It does not change the way
censusplaces$fips is stored or used internally.
EJSCREEN Map Layers Observed in Island Areas
The following notes summarize a manual check of the live EJSCREEN app in May 2026, covering the 2024, 2025, and 2026 versions. Treat these as observed layer-availability notes, not as a guarantee that every mapped layer has a non-null score in every Island Area.
Maps Tab
| Layer group | Island Area availability observed | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 13 environmental indicators | No | None of the main environmental-indicator map layers appeared available in Island Areas. |
| Climate indicators | Partial | Sea level rise indicators and extreme heat appeared available. Other climate indicators did not. |
| Socioeconomic/key demographic indicators | No | ACS-based demographic indicators were not available. |
| EJ Indexes and Supplementary Indexes | No | EJ Index and Supplementary Index layers were not available. |
| Health disparities | Unclear/limited | Cancer and disabilities appeared to show map colors in at least the U.S. Virgin Islands, but with null scores. |
| Service gaps | Unclear/limited | Housing burden appeared to show map colors in at least the U.S. Virgin Islands, but with null scores. |
Places Tab
| Layer group | Island Area availability observed | Layers |
|---|---|---|
| EPA regulated facilities | Yes, all checked layers | Superfund, water dischargers, air pollution, hazardous waste, brownfields, Toxics Release Inventory, and Chemical Data Reporting. |
| Other environmental data | Partial | Available: Facilities Compliance Status, Air Toxics Cancer Risk, RSEI Score, and Water Features. Not available: Nonattainment Areas and EJ Grants. Unclear: Private Drinking Water Wells and Drinking Water Service Areas. |
| Community landmarks | Mostly available | Available: schools, hospitals, places of worship, parks, public housing, and subsidized housing. Not available: prisons. |
| Tribal Lands and Indigenous Areas | No | Tribal Lands, Tribal Cession Boundaries, and Other Indigenous Areas were not available. |
| Colonias | No | HUD Colonias Communities, Texas State Colonias, and New Mexico State Colonias were not available. |
| Designated Disadvantaged Communities | Yes, all checked layers | Justice40/CEJST and EPA IRA Disadvantaged Communities. |
Practical Meaning for EJAM v3
EJAM should allow Island Area blockgroups to appear in datasets, exports, and maps where blockgroup-level data are available. EJAM should not imply that the full ACS demographic indicator set, EJ Indexes, or block-based radius analysis are available there.
For future work, Island Area block helper coverage could be revisited, but that would require a separate build and validation of Island Area block points, block weights, and block-to-blockgroup crosswalks.