Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial–ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure
Abstract
Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) air pollution exposure is the largest environmental health risk factor in the United States. Here, we link PM 2.5 exposure to the human activities responsible for PM 2.5 pollution. We use these results to explore “pollution inequity”: the difference between the environmental health damage caused by a racial–ethnic group and the damage that group experiences. We show that, in the United States, PM 2.5 exposure is disproportionately caused by consumption of goods and services mainly by the non-Hispanic white majority, but disproportionately inhaled by black and Hispanic minorities. On average, non-Hispanic whites experience a “pollution advantage”: They experience ∼17% less air pollution exposure than is caused by their consumption. Blacks and Hispanics on average bear a “pollution burden” of 56% and 63% excess exposure, respectively, relative to the exposure caused by their consumption. The total disparity is caused as much by how much people consume as by how much pollution they breathe. Differences in the types of goods and services consumed by each group are less important. PM 2.5 exposures declined ∼50% during 2002–2015 for all three racial–ethnic groups, but pollution inequity has remained high.
- Publication Date:
- Research Org.:
- Univ. of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN (United States)
- Sponsoring Org.:
- USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE)
- OSTI Identifier:
- 1499052
- Alternate Identifier(s):
- OSTI ID: 1613287
- Grant/Contract Number:
- EE0004397
- Resource Type:
- Published Article
- Journal Name:
- Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
- Additional Journal Information:
- Journal Name: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America Journal Volume: 116 Journal Issue: 13; Journal ID: ISSN 0027-8424
- Publisher:
- National Academy of Sciences
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
- Subject:
- 63 RADIATION, THERMAL, AND OTHER ENVIRON. POLLUTANT EFFECTS ON LIVING ORGS. AND BIOL. MAT.; Science & Technology - Other Topics
Citation Formats
Tessum, Christopher W., Apte, Joshua S., Goodkind, Andrew L., Muller, Nicholas Z., Mullins, Kimberley A., Paolella, David A., Polasky, Stephen, Springer, Nathaniel P., Thakrar, Sumil K., Marshall, Julian D., and Hill, Jason D. Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial–ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure. United States: N. p., 2019.
Web. doi:10.1073/pnas.1818859116.
Tessum, Christopher W., Apte, Joshua S., Goodkind, Andrew L., Muller, Nicholas Z., Mullins, Kimberley A., Paolella, David A., Polasky, Stephen, Springer, Nathaniel P., Thakrar, Sumil K., Marshall, Julian D., & Hill, Jason D. Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial–ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure. United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1818859116
Tessum, Christopher W., Apte, Joshua S., Goodkind, Andrew L., Muller, Nicholas Z., Mullins, Kimberley A., Paolella, David A., Polasky, Stephen, Springer, Nathaniel P., Thakrar, Sumil K., Marshall, Julian D., and Hill, Jason D. Mon .
"Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial–ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure". United States. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1818859116.
@article{osti_1499052,
title = {Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial–ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure},
author = {Tessum, Christopher W. and Apte, Joshua S. and Goodkind, Andrew L. and Muller, Nicholas Z. and Mullins, Kimberley A. and Paolella, David A. and Polasky, Stephen and Springer, Nathaniel P. and Thakrar, Sumil K. and Marshall, Julian D. and Hill, Jason D.},
abstractNote = {Fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) air pollution exposure is the largest environmental health risk factor in the United States. Here, we link PM 2.5 exposure to the human activities responsible for PM 2.5 pollution. We use these results to explore “pollution inequity”: the difference between the environmental health damage caused by a racial–ethnic group and the damage that group experiences. We show that, in the United States, PM 2.5 exposure is disproportionately caused by consumption of goods and services mainly by the non-Hispanic white majority, but disproportionately inhaled by black and Hispanic minorities. On average, non-Hispanic whites experience a “pollution advantage”: They experience ∼17% less air pollution exposure than is caused by their consumption. Blacks and Hispanics on average bear a “pollution burden” of 56% and 63% excess exposure, respectively, relative to the exposure caused by their consumption. The total disparity is caused as much by how much people consume as by how much pollution they breathe. Differences in the types of goods and services consumed by each group are less important. PM 2.5 exposures declined ∼50% during 2002–2015 for all three racial–ethnic groups, but pollution inequity has remained high.},
doi = {10.1073/pnas.1818859116},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America},
number = 13,
volume = 116,
place = {United States},
year = {2019},
month = {3}
}
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https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1818859116
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