Eliminating air pollution exposure disparities

What is it about?

We find that a location-specific approach to reducing local emissions can eliminate disparities in exposure to air pollution in the United States. While the Clean Air Act has significantly reduced outdoor air pollution in the US, racial and ethnic disparities in exposure persist and exceed disparities based on income. We developed three emission reduction scenarios and analyzed how these affected exposure to particulate matter of 2.5 microns or less, the size most frequently attributed to health consequences. Using emissions data from 2014, we calculated the disparity of exposure in each scenario by determining the differences between the average exposure of the overall population versus five sub-populations: Asian, Black, Hispanic, White, and Other. The scenario that resembled current National Ambient Air Quality Standards did not eliminate disparities while the scenario that simulated emission reduction by source eliminated disparities only with near-complete cessation of emissions. In contrast, the location-based reduction scenario, with an average grid size of is 2.6 km in Urban Areas, eliminated disparity eliminated disparity and reduced overall exposure using targeted emission reductions that amounted to only 1% of the nation's total emissions According to the authors, incorporating location-specific emissions into the US regulatory framework is critical for eliminating disparities in exposure to air pollution.

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Photo by Marco Bicca on Unsplash

Photo by Marco Bicca on Unsplash

Why is it important?

National racial-ethnic exposure disparities in air pollution and their persistence across time are well-documented. It is unknown, however, how to systematically eliminate these disparities. Our results suggest that two main current regulatory strategies are ineffective at addressing national average racial-ethnic inequalities. In contrast, those inequalities can be eliminated with modest emission reduction using a location-specific approach. That approach is not included in current national regulatory frameworks (but it is being discussed, and some states have implemented it); also, that approach does as well as or better than the two other approaches at the goal of reducing overall population average. Our article informs the active national conversation about addressing environmental injustice, by providing a scientifically grounded approach for eliminating disparities.