Tessum Christopher W, Paolella David A, Chambliss Sarah E, Apte Joshua S, Hill Jason D, Marshall Julian D
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Urbana, IL 61801, USA.
Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA.
Sci Adv. 2021 Apr 28;7(18). doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abf4491. Print 2021 Apr.
Racial-ethnic minorities in the United States are exposed to disproportionately high levels of ambient fine particulate air pollution (PM), the largest environmental cause of human mortality. However, it is unknown which emission sources drive this disparity and whether differences exist by emission sector, geography, or demographics. Quantifying the PM exposure caused by each emitter type, we show that nearly all major emission categories-consistently across states, urban and rural areas, income levels, and exposure levels-contribute to the systemic PM exposure disparity experienced by people of color. We identify the most inequitable emission source types by state and city, thereby highlighting potential opportunities for addressing this persistent environmental inequity.
美国的少数族裔面临着高得不成比例的环境细颗粒物空气污染（PM），这是导致人类死亡的最大环境因素。然而，尚不清楚是哪些排放源导致了这种差异，以及在排放部门、地理位置或人口统计方面是否存在差异。通过量化每种排放源类型造成的PM暴露，我们发现几乎所有主要排放类别——在各州、城乡地区、收入水平和暴露水平上都是一致的——都导致了有色人种所经历的系统性PM暴露差异。我们确定了各州和各城市最不公平的排放源类型，从而突出了解决这一持续存在的环境不公平问题的潜在机会。
