Shkembi Abas, Patel Keshav, Smith Lauren M, Meier Helen C S, Neitzel Richard L
Department of Environmental Health Sciences, University of Michigan School of Public Health, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
Survey Research Center, University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI, USA.
J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol. 2025 Jul 17. doi: 10.1038/s41370-025-00795-x.
Racial and ethnic inequities in environmental noise exist in the US, partially attributable to historical structural racism. However, previous studies have not considered the totality of people's exposures. Since people spend most of their waking time at work, there is a need to consider cumulative exposure to noise both in and out of the workplace to understand who is most at risk of noise pollution-related adverse health outcomes.
To (1) investigate whether racial and ethnic minority communities are disproportionately burdened by transportation- and workplace-related noise pollution, and (2) assess whether structural racism through historically redlined neighborhoods with sustained mortgage discrimination partially contribute to the hypothesized inequity.
We characterized the prevalence of workplace noise and transportation noise exposure by census tract across the US. We analyzed the census tract-level association between racial and ethnic composition and the population exposed to both transportation- and workplace-related noise pollution in the 2010s using geospatial models. We then assessed census tract-level associations with transportation and workplace noise pollution using historical redlining in the 1930s as the primary covariate, stratified by mortgage discrimination in the 1990s using a similar geospatial model, controlling for census tract-level indicators of low socioeconomic status.
Higher percentages of racial and ethnic minority individuals, particularly Hispanic/Latino and non-Hispanic Black Americans, were associated with significantly higher odds of exposure to both transportation and workplace noise (odds ratio = 8.59, 95% CI: 7.38-10.0, when comparing within-metropolitan area, highest to lowest quintile percentages). These disparities are particularly profound in urban areas. Urban tracts which experienced residential segregation in the 1930s, even without sustained mortgage discrimination in the 1990s, have a significantly higher percentage of individuals exposed to both transportation and workplace noise today compared to those without historical segregation (1.55%, 95% CI: 1.37-1.74). This inequity is even higher among historically segregated tracts that experienced sustained mortgage discrimination (1.83%, 95% CI: 1.66-2.01).
These findings can advance environmental justice initiatives by informing regulatory action to protect communities of color from noise pollution both environmentally and during work.
Our study provides evidence that neighborhoods with a higher proportion of racial and ethnic minority individuals are cumulatively burdened by noise pollution both during work and from transportation sources in their home communities. This suggests that not incorporating workplace exposures when assessing environmental impacts may overlook the most burdened communities. Future environmental justice efforts and policies should consider assessing workplace exposures to reduce environmental health disparities more effectively.
美国在环境噪声方面存在种族和族裔不平等现象，部分原因可归咎于历史上的结构性种族主义。然而，以往的研究并未考虑人们接触噪声的总体情况。由于人们醒着的大部分时间都在工作，因此有必要考虑工作场所内外噪声的累积暴露情况，以了解谁最有可能面临与噪声污染相关的不良健康后果。
（1）调查种族和族裔少数群体是否在与交通和工作场所相关的噪声污染方面负担过重；（2）评估20世纪30年代通过历史上划定的红线社区以及持续的抵押贷款歧视所体现的结构性种族主义是否部分导致了这种假设的不平等。
我们按美国普查区对工作场所噪声和交通噪声暴露的患病率进行了特征描述。我们使用地理空间模型分析了2010年代普查区层面种族和族裔构成与同时暴露于交通和工作场所相关噪声污染的人群之间的关联。然后，我们以20世纪30年代的历史红线划定作为主要协变量，使用类似的地理空间模型，按20世纪90年代的抵押贷款歧视进行分层，控制普查区层面低社会经济地位指标，评估普查区层面与交通和工作场所噪声污染的关联。
种族和族裔少数群体，特别是西班牙裔/拉丁裔和非西班牙裔美国黑人，比例较高的地区与同时暴露于交通和工作场所噪声的较高几率显著相关（当在大都市区内比较最高到最低五分位数百分比时，优势比 = 8.59，95%置信区间：7.38 - 10.0）。这些差异在城市地区尤为明显。20世纪30年代经历过居住隔离的城市普查区，即使在20世纪90年代没有持续的抵押贷款歧视，与没有历史隔离的普查区相比，如今同时暴露于交通和工作场所噪声的个体比例也显著更高（1.55%，95%置信区间：1.37 - 1.74）。在经历过持续抵押贷款歧视的历史隔离普查区中，这种不平等甚至更高（1.83%，95%置信区间：1.66 - 2.01）。
这些发现可为监管行动提供信息，以在环境和工作期间保护有色人种社区免受噪声污染，从而推进环境正义倡议。
我们的研究提供了证据，表明种族和族裔少数群体比例较高的社区在工作期间以及在其家乡社区受到交通源噪声污染的累积负担。这表明在评估环境影响时不纳入工作场所暴露情况可能会忽略负担最重的社区。未来的环境正义努力和政策应考虑评估工作场所暴露情况，以更有效地减少环境健康差距。
