Report Roundup

More than 600,000 students are at increased risk of developing asthma, cancer, learning disorders, and other diseases because their schools are built on or near toxic waste sites, according to a report from the Center for Health Environment Justice.

The advocacy group, based in Falls Church, Va., investigated five states— California, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, and New York—and found that 1,185 public schools were built on or within a half-mile of such waste sites.

The group is calling for new state and federal regulations to protect students from chemical toxins. It also outlines a course of action for parents who want to prevent their children from being placed "in schools that...