Up and down the Ohio River Valley, communities have gotten used to seeing what comes out of the many industrial facilities that help support our economy. (And, to be clear, some of that is just water vapor.)

We have also gotten used to the increased number of medical conditions some experts say are caused by those emissions. There are entire swaths of West Virginia where the residents refer to themselves as living in “Cancer Alley.”

Poor, rural and minority communities have for centuries shouldered a heavier burden when it comes to the consequences of living near the economic powerhouses that provide so much for our region and the country.

But as technology has evolved, there are better ways to avoid some of those consequences. They are, of course, not free. That means it is up to outside agencies sometimes to enforce implementation.

Tuesday, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced a new rule requiring the reduction of toxic emissions that are likely to cause cancer. It will affect more than 200 chemical plants nationwide.

The Associated Press report on the rule did not give a list of those plants to be affected, but said the plants are spread across Texas and Louisiana, the Ohio River Valley, West Virginia and the upper South.

One example given was the Denka Performance Elastomer facility in LaPlace, La.

Japan-based Denka bought the former DuPont rubber-making plant in 2015.

Provided the new rule is enforced in a way that does not do more harm than good to the communities — and the EPA isn’t great at making that a priority –perhaps for some families it will break generational patterns of illness. If implemented reasonably, it is an important step in preserving the health of those living in vulnerable communities.