US EPA

4241047 

Journal Article 

Supplemental Data 

Supplement: Disparities in Distribution of Particulate Matter Emission Sources by Race and Poverty Status 

Mikati, I; Benson, AF; Luben, TJ; Sacks, JD; Richmond-Bryant, J 

2018 

Yes 

American Journal of Public Health
ISSN: 0090-0036
EISSN: 1541-0048 

1 

e1-e6 

English 

is a supplement to 4241015 Disparities in distribution of particulate matter emission sources by race and poverty status

OBJECTIVES: To quantify nationwide disparities in the location of particulate matter (PM)-emitting facilities by the characteristics of the surrounding residential population and to illustrate various spatial scales at which to consider such disparities.

METHODS: We assigned facilities emitting PM in the 2011 National Emissions Inventory to nearby block groups across the 2009 to 2013 American Community Survey population. We calculated the burden from these emissions for racial/ethnic groups and by poverty status. We quantified disparities nationally and for each state and county in the country.

RESULTS: For PM of 2.5 micrometers in diameter or less, those in poverty had 1.35 times higher burden than did the overall population, and non-Whites had 1.28 times higher burden. Blacks, specifically, had 1.54 times higher burden than did the overall population. These patterns were relatively unaffected by sensitivity analyses, and disparities held not only nationally but within most states and counties as well.

CONCLUSIONS: Disparities in burden from PM-emitting facilities exist at multiple geographic scales. Disparities for Blacks are more pronounced than are disparities on the basis of poverty status. Strictly socioeconomic considerations may be insufficient to reduce PM burdens equitably across populations. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print February 22, 2018: e1-e6. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2017.304297).