Neighborhoods and groups that were most exposed to fine particle pollution 40 years ago – lower-income and minority communities – are still exposed to higher air pollution levels and more death: Relative disparities have worsened for poorer and Hispanic communities

Disparities in PM2.5 air pollution in the United States, by Jonathan Colmer1,*, Ian Hardman2, Jay Shimshack3, John Voorheis4

Science  31 Jul 2020: Vol. 369, Issue 6503, pp. 575-578 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaz9353

Air pollution contributes to as many as 9 million premature deaths worldwide each year – twice as many as war, other violence, HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria combined. Fine particulate matter air pollution is especially dangerous: Microscopic particles readily enter the lungs, bloodstream and brain, with health effects that include infant death, reduced life expectancy for adults, cancer, lung disease and heart disease. Fine particulate air pollution is referred to as PM2.5 because the particles are less than 2.5 microns in diameter – 40 times smaller than a grain of sand.
Washington department of Ecology

Fine particle matter pollution concentrations in the United States have declined by roughly 70% since 1981. However, in a newly published study, we show that the areas that were most polluted in 1981 are still the most polluted today, and the least polluted areas in 1981 are still the least polluted today.

Areas that were whiter and richer in 1981 have become relatively less polluted over time. Areas that became whiter and richer between 1981 and 2016 have become relatively less polluted over time. In contrast, the neighborhoods and population groups that were most exposed to fine particle pollution 40 years ago – disproportionately low-income and minority communities – are still exposed to higher pollution levels.

As scholars who focus on environmental economics and public policy, we believe that the persistence of air pollution disparities matters. We care about who is advantaged and disadvantaged. In addition, our results have implications for environmental public policy. To the extent that policy aims to reduce pollution disparities, the job is far from finished.

Mapping pollution at a neighborhood scale

Researchers have known for decades that air pollution varies across locations due to economic activity, climate and other factors. It is also well documented that lower-income households, people of color and other disadvantaged communities are disproportionately exposed to air pollution. Since research shows that air pollution is associated with early death, lower educational attainment and lower lifetime earnings, these differences promote economic, health and social inequality.

What has not been clear is how much air pollution disparities have changed over time. We wanted to understand particulate matter air pollution disparities in a more systematic way, for the entire U.S. over many years.

Until recently, the information needed to answer this question simply wasn’t available. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency monitors levels of fine particle pollution, known as PM2.5, nationwide. But its monitors offer relatively sparse coverage and are concentrated in disproportionately urban locations.

In our study, we leverage newly available data that captures PM2.5 concentrations at more than 8.6 million distinct U.S. locations from 1981 through 2016. These data were constructed from satellite observations and pollution transport modeling, along with pollution monitor records. They provide a detailed year-by-year picture of fine particulate matter concentrations for each of the roughly 65,000 Census tract “neighborhoods” in the United States.


Persistent disparities

Our analysis shows that there has been some progress over the past 35 years in reducing gaps between the most polluted and least polluted locations. In 1981 PM2.5 concentrations in the most polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 34 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 concentrations in the least polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 13 micrograms per cubic meter. The difference was 22 micrograms per cubic meter.

In 2016 PM2.5 concentrations in the most polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 10 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 concentrations in the least polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 4 micrograms per cubic meter. The difference was 6 micrograms per cubic meter.

These reduced gaps likely imply that differences in pollution-induced health, wealth and productivity across locations are also declining. But while pollution gaps have declined for some disadvantaged communities, this hasn’t been universal.

Next we wanted to see whether specific locations had more or less pollution than other locations, and whether the most polluted locations were the same through time. To explore these questions, we ranked each neighborhood from most polluted to least polluted for every year that we had data.

We then evaluated how these rankings changed between 1981 and 2016, and found that they remained remarkably persistent. The most polluted areas in 1981 remain the most polluted areas today, and the least polluted areas in 1981 remain the least polluted areas today. Communities that were disadvantaged in 1981 remain exposed to higher levels of pollution today. If anything, relative disparities have worsened for poorer and Hispanic communities.

Our analysis shows that there has been some progress over the past 35 years in reducing gaps between the most polluted and least polluted locations. In 1981 PM2.5 concentrations in the most polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 34 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 concentrations in the least polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 13 micrograms per cubic meter. The difference was 22 micrograms per cubic meter.

In 2016 PM2.5 concentrations in the most polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 10 micrograms per cubic meter. PM2.5 concentrations in the least polluted 10% of census tracts averaged 4 micrograms per cubic meter. The difference was 6 micrograms per cubic meter. These reduced gaps likely imply that differences in pollution-induced health, wealth and productivity across locations are also declining. But while pollution gaps have declined for some disadvantaged communities, this hasn’t been universal.

Next we wanted to see whether specific locations had more or less pollution than other locations, and whether the most polluted locations were the same through time. To explore these questions, we ranked each neighborhood from most polluted to least polluted for every year that we had data.

We then evaluated how these rankings changed between 1981 and 2016, and found that they remained remarkably persistent. The most polluted areas in 1981 remain the most polluted areas today, and the least polluted areas in 1981 remain the least polluted areas today. Communities that were disadvantaged in 1981 remain exposed to higher levels of pollution today. If anything, relative disparities have worsened for poorer and Hispanic communities.

A disproportionate share of the most polluted areas over the past 40 years are in Southern California, while the least polluted areas are more dispersed across the U.S. As an example, a child born in Los Angeles County in 2016 was exposed to 42% more fine particle pollution than the average child born in the United States, and 26% more pollution than a child born in New York City.

A few areas did see improvements or declines in their relative standing. Ohio, West Virginia, eastern Kentucky and the Northeast Corridor became relatively less polluted from 1981 through 2016. California’s Central and Imperial valleys, southwestern Arizona, southern Texas and portions of Arkansas and Oklahoma became relatively more polluted.

Fairness, equity and public policy

Our findings underline the scope, scale and persistence of air pollution disparities in the United States. But if particulate matter air quality has improved over time – which should translate into improvements in health, wealth and productivity for most Americans – why should we be concerned about relative disparities between some locations and others?

In our view, persistent disparities between the most and least polluted communities matter because fairness, equity and justice are relative concepts. We define them based on who is advantaged and who is disadvantaged at any given time. Pollution disparities translate into health, economic and social disparities.

For decades, federal and state environmental guidelines have aimed to provide all Americans with the same degree of protection from environmental hazards. The EPA’s definition of environmental justice states that “no group of people should bear a disproportionate share of the negative environmental consequences.” On this front, our research suggests that the United States is falling short.

Jonathan Colmer is an Assistant Professor of Economics at the University of Virginia. Jay Shimshack is an Associate Professor of Public Policy and Economics at the University of Economics. The article originally appeared on The Conversation. 

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New Climate Bill in MA Commits to Reduced Tailpipe Emissions

By Christian MilNeil

Aug 3, 2020

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Courtesy of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.
Courtesy of the Massachusetts Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs.

The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a significant new climate bill on Friday night that commits the state to cutting greenhouse gas emissions by “at least 50 percent below the 1990 level” within the next decade.

The Senate passed a bill with similar goals at the end of January. The two chambers, which recently agreed to extend the legislative session in order to wrap up unfinished business, will still need to reconcile the different approaches of their respective bills before they adjourn for the rest of the year.

The key provision in both versions is a proposed “emissions reduction roadmap plan” to accomplish net-zero emissions by 2050, with interim goals in the nearer term (the Senate bill would require interim emissions limits every 5 years, starting in 2025, whereas the House version would set interim limits for each decade).

While the House bill doesn’t explicitly mention the Commonwealth’s transportation policies, beyond some limited language about electric vehicle charging, the overall goals it sets will almost certainly require major changes to how the state sets transportation policy and funds transportation agencies.

Cars and trucks generate nearly half of the state’s climate pollution, and to date, most of the Commonwealth’s greenhouse gas reductions have  come from energy efficiency and cleaner power plants, not from reductions in tailpipe pollution.

Meeting the new 2030 goal outlined in these bills will almost certainly require significant reductions in pollution from the transportation sector in the short term.

The new legislation would also amend existing greenhouse gas regulations to include “emissions from any transportation vehicle.” That’s a significant improvement over the current law, which defines “direct emissions” as pollution from smokestacks and “company owned or company-leased motor vehicles,” but pointedly omits privately-owned cars and trucks.

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DPS board member Tay Anderson taken to hospital after he was injured in downtown protest

Anderson said officers pushed him; police suggest he lost his footing in scuffle

By CONRAD SWANSON | cswanson@denverpost.com | The Denver PostPUBLISHED: July 29, 2020 at 1:00 p.m. | UPDATED: July 29, 2020 at 6:47 p.m.

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Denver Public Schools board member Tay Anderson was taken to a hospital Wednesday after he was injured during a protest outside a homeless camp in downtown Denver.

Anderson said that Denver police pushed him to the ground. Videos taken at the scene and posted on social media show Anderson in the middle of a group that was challenging police outside the camp in Lincoln Park.

The protest began Wednesday morning after police and other city and state officials swept out a homeless encampment in the park, just west of the State Capitol. Videos show a crowd confronting police and later Anderson being pushed to the ground.

Denver Public Safety Director Murphy Robinson said he heard officers did not push Anderson.

“It appears that law enforcement was trying to close the gate and there was a bit of a scuffle and someone lost their footing,” said Denver Police spokesperson Christine Downs.

Downs said no police report has been filed and the incident remains under investigation.

However, when Anderson was interviewed moments after the confrontation, Anderson said police pushed him.

Tay Anderson tells me he was hit by police. @CBSDenver pic.twitter.com/D1JBWczjEz

— Jacqueline Quynh (@jquynhreports) July 29, 2020

“This hurts,” Anderson said, clutching an ice pack to the back of his head.

“That was the police,” he added as he sat in the back seat of a car.

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From the hospital, Anderson texted The Denver Post that police shoved him to the ground. At 12:35 p.m. he tweeted a picture of himself in a hospital bed.

“My body hurts all over,” he wrote. “I will be okay! STILL I RISE.”

Later Anderson tweeted that Denver police “assaulted me, but I want us to remain focus on the reason why we were standing our ground and that is the immoral treatment of our unhoused neighbors.”

Anderson has become a leader in the Denver’s police protests since they erupted in late May after Minneapolis police killed George Floyd.

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Conrad Swanson | Denver City Hall Reporter

Conrad Swanson covers Denver politics on The Denver Post’s political team. An Iowa native, he joined the paper in November 2019 after stints at the Colorado Springs Gazette, Lawrence Journal-World (Kansas) and Sioux City Journal (Iowa). He graduated from the University of Iowa with a bachelor’s degree in journalism and a focus in economics. He is a member of the Investigative Reporters and Editors organization and was awarded a 2019 fellowship for the National Press Foundation’s Spotlight on Statehouse and Local Reporting Program. He also won awards for sustained coverage in Colorado and political and investigative coverage in Kansas.cswanson@denverpost.com Follow Conrad Swanson @conrad_swanson

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