The Toxic 100 is a list of one hundred companies in the United States, ranked by the amount of air pollution produced and the relative toxicity of the pollutants, as determined by the Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. The March 2010 list (based on 2006 data) includes Bayer Group, ExxonMobil, Sunoco, E.I. du Pont de Nemours, ArcelorMittal, Steel Dynamics Inc., , Ford Motor Company, Eastman Kodak Co., and Koch Industries. Toxic scores are calculated by the formula: ::Emissions x Toxicity x Population Exposure Emissions are measured in millions of pounds. Population exposure is based on the proximity of nearby residents, and factors such as prevailing winds and height of smokestacks. Toxicity is per the US EPA's Risk-Screening Environmental Indicators. On November 3, 2013, Precision Castparts Corp. published a report in which it questioned the methodology of the Toxic 100 study. The report said that the study "assigns false high toxicity levels to the metal emissions from Precision Castparts Corp. (PCC) manufacturing facilities." However, Michael Ash, a professor of economics and public policy at the University of Massachusetts, defended the results of the PERI study, saying that the raw data came from the United States Environmental Protection Agency. The study distinguished between high-toxicity and low-toxicity varieties of chromium emissions.
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