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Over the past several decades, air pollution-related deaths and illnesses have declined across the United States, but not all communities have benefited equally.
A new peer-reviewed study published in the journal Environmental Health Perspective finds that ethnic and racial disparities in premature mortality and morbidity due to particulate matter and nitrogen dioxide widened between 2010 and 2019. It turned out that it did.
In 2019, air pollution caused nearly 50,000 premature childhood asthma deaths and more than 100,000 new childhood asthma cases in the United States, a marked decrease from just a few years ago.
Three of the cities with the highest mortality and morbidity rates from pollution are in the Midwest and surrounding regions.
In 2019, Indiana experienced 1,636 premature deaths due to pollution and 2,115 new cases of childhood asthma. By comparison, Illinois, which had the highest death rate in the Midwest, had 2,683 premature deaths from pollution and 7,683 new cases of childhood asthma.
Thanks to the Clean Air Act and other legislative efforts, air pollution has decreased across all population groups in the United States, said Gaige Carr, a senior research fellow at George Washington University’s Milken Institute School of Public Health and one of the study authors. It is said that they are doing so. .
But the gap in air pollution levels between white communities and communities of color is widening, he said. Much of the pollution is anthropogenic, or anthropogenic, and these public health impacts could have been prevented.
“Even without air pollution, unfortunately, people living in marginalized communities often die younger,” Kerr said. “Their illnesses are getting worse because they have less access to nutritious food and health care.”
Ambient nitrogen dioxide pollution typically comes from cars and trucks in urban areas and is associated with increased incidence of childhood asthma. The pollutant most likely to cause premature death is PM2.5, or soot (fine particles smaller than the diameter of a human hair), which often come from fossil fuels.
The study found that between 2010 and 2019, the racial disparity between minimally white and majority white communities was 16% in soot-related premature deaths and 19% in childhood asthma caused by nitrogen dioxide. % expanded. Asthma and premature deaths caused by these pollutants increased by 10% and 40%, respectively, over the same period.
Soot may seem small, but it can cause serious and noticeable health effects leading to bronchitis and asthma, diseases that disproportionately affect communities of color. Early soot-related deaths are caused by stroke, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer, diabetes, and other medical problems.
Cities near the Ohio River Valley, in the former Rust Belt region, such as Evansville and Kokomo, Indiana, and Manfield, Ohio, have some of the highest death rates from pollution. Areas with the highest rates of childhood asthma due to pollution include Chicago, Illinois, and Detroit, Michigan.
In marginalized areas, redlining and other racist zoning policies increase the likelihood of more refineries, power plants, and highways in those areas, further polluting them.
For example, one of Kerr’s previous studies found that heavy diesel-powered vehicles such as semi-trucks contribute to atmospheric inequality, even though they make up a smaller proportion of cars on the road.
In 2019, the direct cost of childhood asthma and premature death from these pollutants was estimated at approximately $466 billion, equivalent to 2.2% of gross domestic product. Mortality accounted for 99.7% of the estimated costs.
Mr Kerr said stricter and more specific air quality policies would help solve the problem. These could include stricter vehicle engine emissions standards, rethinking freight transport, and increasing the use of trains and other eco-efficient transport options.
“I’m not a freight logistics expert, but I don’t think we have the infrastructure in place to switch to rail or electric vehicles at the moment,” he said. “With that in mind, think of small solutions that don’t improve every problem. [is to] Continue to shop local, go to farmers markets, and avoid relying on truckloads of groceries. ”
The EPA recently announced that it will strengthen its soot standards to prevent up to 4,500 premature deaths in 2032. The Biden administration estimates that every dollar spent on this measure will generate up to $77 in health benefits.
Contact health reporter Elizabeth Gabriel at egabriel@wfyi.org.
Side Effects Public Media is a health reporting collaboration based at WFYI in Indianapolis. We are affiliated with His NPR stations in the Midwest and surrounding areas, including Missouri’s He KBIA and KCUR, Iowa Public Radio, Ohio’s Ideastream, Kentucky’s He WFPL, and more.
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