Disparities in ambient nitrogen dioxide pollution in the United States

• Type of Material: Article
• Authors: Yifan Wang, Emory University; Pengfei Liu, Georgia Institute of Technology; Joel Schwartz, Harvard University; Edgar Castro, Harvard University; Wenhao Wang, Emory University; Howard Chang, Emory University; Noah C Scovronick, Emory University; Liuhua Shi, Emory University
• Language: English
• Date: 2023-04-10
• Publisher: PNAS
• Publication Version: Final Published Version
• Copyright Statement: © 2023 the Author(s). Published by PNAS.
• License: Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 4.0 International
• Final Published Version (URL): https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2208450120
• Title of Journal or Parent Work: The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
• Volume: 120
• Issue: 16
• Start Page: e2208450120
• Grant/Funding Information: This publication was supported by the NIH (NIH R01 AG074357, R21 ES032606) and the Emory HERCULES Center (P30 ES019776). P.L. was supported by start-up funding from Georgia Institute of Technology.
• Keywords: air pollution; environmental justice; exposure disparity; nitrogen dioxide
• Research Categories: Environmental Sciences; Health Sciences, Public Health; Sociology, Ethnic and Racial Studies; Health Sciences, Epidemiology

Abstract

Historic systemic racism, segregation, and White-dominated political institutions in the US have created a public health crisis for communities of color, which includes a higher burden of air pollution. Although outdoor air quality hbas improved, addressing environmental injustices remains a priority. Combining high-resolution ground-level NO2 conentrations, fine-scale sociodemographic information and source-specific emission, we find that racial/ethnic minorities are exposed to higher ambient NO2 levels in the US, and disparities have persisted and worsened between 2000 and 2016. Although not the only source, traffic-related emissions are a major contributor. The primary contribution of this work is identifying the source-specific contribtions to NO2 exposure disparities, enabling targeted actions to reduce environmental injustices among racia/ethinic groups