Numerous manufacturing plants, steel mills, landfills, and waste dumps border the 190 acre Altgeld Gardens site. The residents have a growing concern about the number of deaths annually from cancer and other diseases that may be related to environmental hazards of their industrial neighborhood. The community's status as low-income and minority gives them less political clout that enables toxic conditions to thrive. However, community organizing such as through the People for Community Recovery is making positive steps towards environmental justice. According to Cheryl Johnson, the head of People for Community Recovery, health problems of the Altgeld Gardens community include lead poisoning, asthma, bronchitis, and other respiratory diseases. Although most of the lead contamination stemmed from lead-based paint, there is lead contamination in the soil.