Doctorado en Medio Ambiente y Desarrollo, Instituto de Investigaciones Oceanológicas, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Ensenada 22860, Mexico.
Cuerpo académico de Bioingeniería y Salud Ambiental, Universidad Autónoma de Baja California, Mexicali 21100, Mexico.
Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2020 Jun 27;17(13):4616. doi: 10.3390/ijerph17134616.
Air pollution in developing countries is a growing concern. It is associated with urbanization and social and economic structures. The understanding of how social factors can influence the perception and the potential impact of air pollution have not been addressed sufficiently. This paper addresses the social vulnerability and exposure to PM association and its influence on the air quality perception of residents in Mexicali, a Mexico-US border city. This study used individual variables and population census data, as well as statistical and spatial analyses. A cluster of socially vulnerable populations with high exposure to coarse particulate matter (PM) was found in the city's peripheral areas. The spatial distribution of the local perception of air quality varied by the exposure zones of the estimated PM concentrations. Respondents living in very high exposure areas perceive air quality as "poor," contrarily to a worse perception in areas of intermediate and lower exposure to PM. Proximity to stationary sources of pollution was associated with a poor perception of air quality. Results also indicate that low household income and poor air quality perceived at the place of residence negatively influences the perceived changes in the air quality over time. The knowledge of chronic health effects related to air pollution was scarce in the sampled population, especially in the areas with very high exposure and high social vulnerability. These findings can serve as a support in local air quality management.
发展中国家的空气污染问题日益受到关注。它与城市化和社会经济结构有关。人们对社会因素如何影响对空气污染的感知和潜在影响的理解还不够充分。本文探讨了社会脆弱性和暴露于 PM 之间的关联及其对墨西卡利市（位于美墨边境的墨西哥城市）居民对空气质量感知的影响。本研究使用了个体变量和人口普查数据，以及统计和空间分析。在该市的外围地区发现了一个社会弱势群体高度暴露于粗颗粒物（PM）的集群。空气质量的本地感知的空间分布因估计的 PM 浓度的暴露区而异。居住在高暴露区的受访者认为空气质量为“差”，而在中低 PM 暴露区的感知则更差。与固定污染源的接近程度与空气质量的不良感知有关。结果还表明，家庭收入低以及居住地感知的空气质量差会对空气质量随时间变化的感知产生负面影响。在抽样人群中，与空气污染有关的慢性健康影响的知识很少，特别是在高暴露和高社会脆弱性的地区。这些发现可以为当地空气质量管理提供支持。
