Disproportionate Exposure to Air Pollution for Low-Income Communities in the United States

environmentinequalitypublic policy

May 23

Written By Elisabeth Currit

A polluted city landscape — Image by Ralf Vetterle from Pixabay

By Elisabeth Currit

Published Spring 2022

Special thanks to Erica Bassett for editing and research contributions

Summary+

While air pollution is a major problem in much of the United States, individuals of low socioeconomic status are disproportionately exposed to air pollution compared to wealthier individuals.¹ Contributing factors to the problem of disproportionate exposure to air pollution for low-income communities in the United States include lack of emissions regulations and enforcement, disproportionate placement of pollution sources nearby low-income neighborhoods, and the excessive political power of large emitters. The negative consequences that low-income individuals suffer because of this include both physical and mental health as well as impaired cognitive function. NGOs and other organizations are creating programs to help individuals become more involved in the political process in order to solve local air pollution problems, and many are doing this through community organizing. However, more outcome assessments need to be made in order to quantify and qualify the outcomes of these programs.

Key Takeaways+

Many issues surrounding air pollution have not been looked at as a whole, including addressing and connecting the problems of air pollution mitigation and regulation, placement of polluting facilities, physical and mental health issues, and political power. These issues are interrelated and in order to solve any of them, all of them must be addressed.

Air pollution disproportionately affects low-income communities due to the combination of a lack of emissions regulations and enforcement, disproportionate placement of pollution sources nearby low-income neighborhoods, and the disproportionately large political power of large emitters.

Low-income individuals suffer from both physical and mental health consequences as a result of this overexposure to air pollution, as well as impaired cognitive function.

One of the best existing practices is community organizing to increase participation in the political process, both locally and nationally, as it is related to environmental issues, but this process can be slow.

Key Terms+

Particulate Matter—“Particulate Matter (PM), also called particle pollution, is the term for a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, and smoke, are large or dark enough to be seen with the naked eye; others are so small they can only be detected using an electron microscope. PM includes PM₁₀: inhalable particles with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller; and PM_2.5: fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5 micrometers and smaller.”²

VOCs—“Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) are chemicals that both vaporize into air and dissolve in water.”³ “VOCs are emitted from a variety of sources, including motor vehicles, chemical manufacturing facilities, refineries, factories, consumer and commercial products, and natural [ . . . ] sources (mainly trees).”⁴

NOx—“Any of several oxides of nitrogen most of which are produced in combustion and are considered to be atmospheric pollutants, such as nitric oxide, nitrogen dioxide, and nitrous oxide.”⁵

SO₂ and SOx—“Sulfur dioxide (SO₂), a colorless, bad-smelling, toxic gas, is part of a larger group of chemicals referred to as sulfur oxides (SOx). These gases, especially SO₂, are emitted by the burning of fossil fuels—coal, oil, and diesel—or other materials that contain sulfur. Sources include power plants, metals processing and smelting facilities, and vehicles. Diesel vehicles and equipment have long been a major source of sulfur dioxide, but recent federal regulations to reduce the sulfur content of diesel fuels have made a significant improvement in emissions from this sector. Sulfur dioxide is also a natural byproduct of volcanic activity.”⁶

Pb (lead)—“Sources of lead emissions vary from one area to another. At the national level, major sources of lead in the air are ore and metals processing and piston-engine aircraft operating on leaded aviation fuel. Other sources are waste incinerators, utilities, and lead-acid battery manufacturers. The highest air concentrations of lead are usually found near lead smelters.”⁷

CO—“Carbon Monoxide (CO) is a colorless, odorless gas that can be harmful when inhaled in large amounts. CO is released when something is burned. The greatest sources of CO to outdoor air are cars, trucks and other vehicles or machinery that burn fossil fuels. A variety of items in your home such as unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, leaking chimneys and furnaces, and gas stoves also release CO and can affect air quality indoors.”⁸

Ground-level ozone—“Ground-level ozone [ . . . ] is formed primarily from photochemical reactions between two major classes of air pollutants, volatile organic compounds (VOC) and nitrogen oxides (NOx). Ozone has two properties of interest to human health. First, it absorbs UV light, reducing human exposure to harmful UV radiation that causes skin cancer and cataracts. Second, when inhaled, it reacts chemically with many biological molecules in the respiratory tract, leading to a number of adverse health effects.”⁹

Point source—“The term ‘point source’ means any discernible, confined and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. This term does not include agricultural stormwater discharges and return flows from irrigated agriculture.”¹⁰

Trans-boundary air pollution—Air pollution that travels across state and country boundaries on air currents.

Trans-Pacific air pollution—Air pollution that is carried across the Pacific Ocean by global air currents prevailing in a direction from eastern Asia to the western United States.

Health disparities—Health disparities are the differences in health status across various socioeconomic, ethnic, and/or racial groups.

Environmental racism—“Environmental racism is racial discrimination in environmental policymaking, the enforcement of regulations and laws, the deliberate targeting of communities of color for toxic waste facilities, the official sanctioning of the life-threatening presence of poisons and pollutants in our communities, and the history of excluding people of color from leadership of the ecology movements.”¹¹

BIPOC—BIPOC stands for Black, Indigenous, and People of Color.

EPA—The Environmental Protection Agency is an independent executive agency of the United States federal government. It oversees environmental protection matters.

Clean Air Act—“The Clean Air Act (CAA) is the comprehensive federal law that regulates air emissions from stationary and mobile sources. Among other things, this law authorizes EPA to establish National Ambient Air Quality Standards (NAAQS) to protect public health and public welfare and to regulate emissions of hazardous air pollutants.”¹²

Context

Q: What is air pollution?

Air pollution is defined as the presence of harmful substances in the atmosphere, especially those that pose a risk to the health of humans and other living things. Among the most common air pollutants are volatile organic compounds (VOCs), particulate matter (PM), nitrogen oxides (NOx), sulfur oxides (SOx), carbon monoxide, lead, and ground level ozone.¹³ This brief will discuss these examples of air pollutants together under the phrase “air pollution.”

Though air pollutants can exist in their individual forms, they can also undergo chemical reactions and form different pollutants while still in the atmosphere. For example, ground-level ozone is formed by reactions between nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOC) in the presence of sunlight. Ground-level ozone and other pollutants in the air can create haze, which impacts visibility, and also have negative biological effects.¹⁴

Although a related and relevant topic, greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide are not considered in this brief for various reasons. CO₂ and other greenhouse gases contribute to global warming and subsequently cause indirect physical harm to humans, but exposure to greenhouse gases in the atmosphere does not have the same health consequences that are discussed in this brief.¹⁵ In addition, from a policy perspective, greenhouse gases are regulated differently than air pollutants of physiological concern.^{16, 17}

Q: What are the sources of air pollution?

There are four main types of air pollution sources:

    Mobile sources, such as cars and trains, account for more than 50% of all
    the air pollution in the United States. The primary mobile source of air
    pollution is the automobile, according to the Environmental Protection
    Agency.18
  

    Stationary sources, such as power plants and factories, emit large amounts
    of pollution from a single location, such as the coal-powered James H.
    Miller Jr. Electric Generating Plant in Alabama and the Martin Lake Power
    Plant in Texas, which emitted over 240 and 109 million metric tons
    respectively from 2009 to 2019.19
  

    Area sources, such as agricultural areas and wood burning fireplaces, are
    made up of many smaller pollution sources that are not as significant by
    themselves, but they can be very impactful when considered as a group.20
    For example, research found that in recent years, emissions of
    particulate matter“Particulate Matter (PM), also called particle pollution, is the term for
      a mixture of solid particles and liquid droplets found in the air. Some
      particles, such as dust, dirt, soot, and smoke, are large or dark enough
      to be seen with the naked eye; others are so small they can only be
      detected using an electron microscope. PM includes PM10: inhalable
      particles with diameters that are generally 10 micrometers and smaller;
      and PM2.5: fine inhalable particles, with diameters that are generally 2.5
      micrometers and smaller.”2
    from farms outweigh all other human sources of particulate matter in much of
    the United States. This is due to fumes from nitrogen-rich fertilizers and
    animal waste combining with industrial emissions to form particles in the
    atmosphere.21
  

    Natural sources, such as wind-blown dust, wildfires, and volcanoes, can be
    significant but do not usually create ongoing air pollution problems.22
  

Air pollutants come from natural, area, stationary, and mobile sources

When speaking of air pollution, this brief will refer to air pollution from all of these sources.

Q: How have air pollution levels changed over time?

Since the beginning of the Industrial Age, and even more after World War II, air pollution levels have been on the rise in the US. In the 1960s, pollution levels were extremely high, especially in large cities; for example, in Los Angeles, ozone concentrations occasionally exceeded 600 parts per billion by volume.^{23, 24} Interestingly, air pollution levels have improved dramatically since 1970, with the combined emissions of the six common pollutants (PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, SO₂, NOx, VOCs, CO> and Pb) dropping by 78 percent.²⁵ Despite such signs of improvement, air pollution remains a serious issue. Unfortunately, the most recent studies suggest that former estimates of the detrimental consequences of air pollution were significantly underestimated. With new analytical tools and datasets, researchers today are reporting higher estimates of the detrimental effects than previously assumed.²⁶

Q: Who is most affected by air pollution levels?

Communities and neighborhoods comprised of individuals and families of lower socioeconomic status (SES) are consistently exposed to higher levels of pollutants than predominantly wealthier neighborhoods,²⁷ leading to “greater health and environmental risk burdens than the society at large.”²⁸ There are also significant relationships between ethnic and racial minorities living in poorer areas and levels of exposure to environmental hazards, particularly air pollution. For example, the densely populated communities near the I-710 freeway in Los Angeles County are disproportionately impacted by air pollution from transportation and industrial activity.²⁹ According to one source, “the I-710 freeway passes through 15 cities and unincorporated areas with a population of over 1 million residents—about 70% of which are minority and disproportionately low income populations.”³⁰

The issue of low-income communities’ disproportionate exposure to air pollution is not new; however, while air quality in the country has greatly improved for most people since the passing of the Clean Air Act in 1963, low-income communities continue to bear the brunt of pollution exposure.³¹

  Q: Why is this brief focusing on air pollution exposure in the US
  specifically?

Although the US is one of the wealthiest nations in the world, the country ranks lower in terms of air quality than many other highly developed nations. The Environmental Performance Index ranks the US 16 out of 180 countries in environmental measures, with countries such as Finland, Australia, and Sweden surpassing the US in terms of national air quality.³² Pollution levels in many areas in the US are regularly higher than recommended EPA levels, which vary by pollutant. These levels are based on what is recommended as safe for human health.³³

Unlike other types of environmental pollutants, which are generally more easily contained, air pollution travels freely on global air currents, unrestricted by political boundaries; as such, one state’s or nation’s type of restrictions and quality of enforcement impacts other locations’ air quality. For example, much of the pollution in the western US comes in the form of trans-Pacific air pollution from China. On days with the strongest winds, between 12% and 24% of sulfate air pollution and 2% to 5% of ozone in the western United States were found to have originated in China.^{34, 35. 36} Although air pollution carried by global currents affects many countries around the world, global currents bring a large amount of transboundary air pollution to the US.³⁷ For instance, while many other countries experience more air pollution than the US,³⁸ air pollution is responsible for over 100,000 American deaths annually.³⁹ Thus, this brief will discuss air pollution surrounding this country specifically.

Map showing air pollution deaths per 10,000 residents in the USA

Contributing Factors

Disproportionate Placement of Pollution Sources Near Low-Income Neighborhoods

Point sources are often placed in and near low-income neighborhoods, which contributes to the disproportionate exposure to air pollution among low-income individuals and families. Concentrating major pollutant emitters, such as power plants, factories, truck routes, highways, etc., in communities and neighborhoods of lower socioeconomic status happens, in large part, because decision makers know that they are unlikely to face opposition from these communities.⁴⁰ Additionally, low-income neighborhoods have financial incentives for industries with cheaper land, low-cost labor, and easier access to transportation.⁴¹ Counties in the United States that have the worst air quality have higher rates of poverty compared to counties that rank highest in air quality.⁴²

Image of a woman wearing an allergy mask — Image by resprouk from Pixabay

One report found that “many economically impoverished communities and their inhabitants are exposed to greater health hazards in their homes, on the jobs, and in their neighborhoods when compared to their more affluent counterparts.”⁴³ This is often a result of several factors, including exposure to air pollution because of living in areas near factories or coal-burning plants and poor ventilation systems in homes, schools, and places of work.⁴⁴

Factories, power plants, and other stationary sources are often purposefully built in places where regulations are few—areas which also tend to be lower-income neighborhoods.⁴⁵ A California study shows that over a 30-year period, 245 toxic polluting facilities were deliberately placed in poor communities.^{46, 47} These neighborhoods are comprised of mostly low-income individuals and were found to be systematically selected as locations for polluting facilities due to their vulnerability, such as in neighborhoods in Houston, Texas, and along an 85-mile strip of the Mississippi River in Louisiana known as “Cancer Alley.”⁴⁸ This vulnerability exists because these communities commonly have fewer resources and less political clout to oppose the siting of polluting facilities.⁴⁹ One expert referred to the low-income communities surrounding the plants and factories as “sacrifice zones.”⁵⁰ In much of the United States, pollution is regarded by those responsible for the large amounts of stationary source emissions (i.e., large corporations such as factories and power plants) as only being the problem of people in neighborhoods most directly affected by the pollution, as opposed to the problem of the general public.⁵¹

Lack of Emissions Regulations and Enforcement

A lack of government emissions regulations and enforcement, especially in low-income areas, allows industries to continue to emit unhealthy amounts of pollution, oftentimes without repercussions. Such inadequately regulated emissions then significantly affect low-income neighborhoods, which are often located closest to these pollutant sources. While there are regulations in place in the US which limit the amount of air pollutants that can be emitted in a certain period of time,⁵² many times these regulations are not well enforced or not adequate enough in their requirements to limit air pollution. For example, the Clean Air Act rarely requires the EPA or industries to monitor or report toxic air pollutants; this means that not only are companies able to emit more pollutants without repercussions, but also information about local pollution levels is often unavailable to residents who live near these large plants and factories (and who are largely of low socioeconomic status).⁵³ When corporations do report their emissions, they are permitted to make estimates using what some see as flawed and inaccurate monitoring methods.⁵⁴ This behavior leads to a lack of accountability within these companies.⁵⁵

When companies are fined for violating Clean Air standards, it is often only after a period of longstanding violations. For example, in 2021, Toyota Motor Company paid $180 million in settlement for violating Clean Air Act automobile defect reporting requirements (put in place to protect public health and the environment from harmful air pollutants), but these violations had been occurring from approximately 2005 until at least late 2015.⁵⁶ Although it is unclear the specifics of how low-income areas were affected by Toyota Motor Company’s violations, these kinds of longstanding violations of air quality standards by large corporations, which occur mainly in low-income areas, mean that low-income communities experience long-term disproportionate exposure to higher levels of air pollution.

In recent years, the EPA has announced rollbacks of clean car standards and has temporarily stopped enforcing certain environmental monitoring and reporting requirements in various states across the US.⁵⁷ Although this brief will not discuss reasons behind these rollbacks, these announcements, coupled with the commonplace lack of proper enforcement of rules regulating air quality, have contributed to recent increases in air pollution. While air pollution had been on a downward trend in the US, decreasing by 24% from 2009 to 2016, after the rollbacks were announced, particulate matter increased by 5% just from 2016 to 2018—a disturbing increase for such a short period of time.⁵⁸ In 2020, the Mercury and Air Toxics Standards—a piece of legislation that established limits on mercury emissions and other hazardous pollutants from coal-burning power plants—was rolled back as well.⁵⁹ In total, over the last 5 years, 30 air pollution and emissions regulations were rolled back.⁶⁰ Although many are currently under review for reinstatement under a new political administration, such reinstatement could take years, and the harm to air quality caused by the rollbacks could be difficult to reverse.⁶¹ These rollbacks are particularly troubling for low-income communities that have long faced higher pollution levels in addition to the worst of air pollution’s health consequences.⁶²

Lack of emissions regulations in other countries such as China also affects air quality in the US.⁶³ Although pollutants are regulated more stringently in the US than in China, the high emission levels of pollutants in China are a large part of the western US’s air quality problem due to the pollution traveling across the Pacific ocean on global air currents.⁶⁴ Transpacific air pollution from China contributes approximately 12%–24% of sulfate pollution over the western United States.⁶⁵ However, this aspect of the issue is nuanced, as a large percentage of China’s emissions are due to the manufacture of goods for foreign consumption, about 21% of which are China-to-US exports.⁶⁶ The United States Library of Congress reported that while emissions of some pollutants are currently decreasing in China, particulate matter and ozone levels are worsening due to increased factory production, and all of central and eastern China are experiencing very high concentrations of particulate matter and ozone.⁶⁷ While restrictions in China remain loose, air pollution in the US will continue to be affected.

Enforcement of existing US environmental regulations is challenging because much of environmental policy in the US is dependent on parties actively taking legal action against other parties (known as litigation). For example, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) is a well-known piece of environmental legislation in the US that is commonly litigated between two parties. Without specific actions by a party (such as a government agency or individual) to litigate against the other party (such as a fossil fuel company), enforcement of environmental regulations is hardly maintained. Unfortunately, taking legal action is challenging for low-income individuals or communities, given that litigation is a lengthy and expensive process. It is often extremely difficult to challenge large fossil fuel corporations in court, thus contributing to the cycle of disproportionate exposure to pollution.

Political Power of Large Emitters

Large corporations hold much greater lobbying and political power than do low-income households, which often leads to lax environmental regulations that benefit corporations over low-income individuals and contributes to the disproportionate exposure to pollution for low-income individuals.^{68, 69} This is not a new phenomenon; when the Clean Air Act was enacted in 1970 (a law that intended to create and meet national air quality standards in all US states in order to address health and welfare risks posed by harmful air pollutants⁷⁰) industry lobbying significantly weakened the EPA’s emerging regulations.⁷¹ This trend continues today—fossil fuel industries are well known for their political influence as well as their wealth, which are consistently used against proposals for stricter environmental regulations.⁷²

Several well-known fossil fuel companies are among the leading campaign donors and lobbyists in the United States.⁷³ In 2017–2018 alone, these industries spent over $359 million in lobbying and political donations, although it is unclear how much of this amount specifically went to issues related to air pollution.⁷⁴ As fewer regulations yield more permissible emissions and operations, it is natural that many companies hold a personal interest in opposing air quality legislation. This unequal representation of the interests of stakeholders means that the voice and opinions of one party (in this case, pollutant emitters) are nearly always heard over the voices of local citizens, especially those of low socioeconomic status.

Negative Consequences

Trees and forest ecosystems are vital to maintaining clean air, as they help absorb and filter out air pollutants from the air.⁷⁵ While these pollutants are also harmful to plants and ecosystems (such as through reducing the ability to photosynthesize), this brief will focus on air pollution's negative effects on humans. Air pollution accounts for approximately 9 million deaths per year globally, making human-caused air pollution one of the most pressing and concerning public health hazards today.⁷⁶

Physical Health

Globally, air pollution is estimated to contribute to 1 in 6 deaths,⁷⁷ and poor air quality in the US is linked to several physical health issues. Among the health problems linked to exposure to air pollution are respiratory diseases, heart disease, and adverse birth outcomes. While air pollution is harmful to all people who experience it—shortening life expectancy and decreasing quality of life—those who are most at risk from air pollution are people from low-income communities. In the United States, these communities are regularly subjected to levels of pollutants that are considerably higher than the concentrations deemed unsafe even for short-term exposure.^{78, 79, 80} Such exposures only become more damaging to health the longer the standards are exceeded. For instance, many studies prove the relationship between high hospitalization trends and months with greater air pollution and inversion.⁸¹ Children, pregnant women, and the elderly are even more disproportionately affected by air pollution.⁸²

Air pollution is linked to many respiratory diseases, such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), which refers to lung diseases that cause airflow blockage and difficulty breathing, and asthma. Air pollution plays a significant role in both causing and worsening the symptoms of COPD.⁸³ Pollutants irritate the lungs, and people who have respiratory diseases such as COPD are especially sensitive to air pollution. According to the Centers for Disease Control, COPD is the 4th leading cause of death in the US and mortality rates continue to increase.⁸⁴ Additionally, air pollution exacerbates asthma in both adults and children, and can even cause asthma and respiratory infections.⁸⁵ One study showed that individuals with asthma were 40% more likely to have acute asthma episodes on days with high air pollution levels than on days with average levels.⁸⁶

Air pollution raises blood pressure and increases the risk of heart attacks and strokes. It can also trigger heart attacks and strokes that cause disability and death in those individuals with preexisting conditions.^{87, 88} The American Heart Association stated that exposure to particulate matter, even if just for hours or weeks, can trigger heart disease-related deaths and other serious heart-related conditions.⁸⁹ Worldwide, 14% of the cardiovascular events can be attributed to exposure to air pollution, especially to particulate matter.⁹⁰ According to a report by EPA, 1 in 3 adult Americans suffer from heart or blood vessel disease, and heart disease and stroke are the first and fourth leading causes of death in the US.⁹¹

Maternal and natal health have also been proven to be adversely affected when expectant mothers are exposed to certain air contaminants. Air pollution has been shown to increase instances of adverse birth outcomes, such as low birth weight, premature births, and infant mortality. Several specific air pollutants have been identified as being linked to adverse birth outcomes and maternal exposure to high levels of these pollutants can be dangerous for both the mother and the fetus. When pregnant women are exposed to lead, particulate matter, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, CO> , and ozone, particularly during the first trimester of pregnancy, adverse birth outcomes are more likely to occur.^{92, 93, 94, 95}

Air pollution poses a serious risk to human health but can be reduced surprisingly quickly if proper measures are taken and restrictions put in place.⁹⁶ Studies have shown that reducing pollution can have a rapid and significant positive impact on human health; within just a few weeks after reducing pollution exposure, many pollution-related illnesses—such as asthma—decrease significantly.⁹⁷

Impaired Cognitive Function

Exposure to air pollution can also impair memory and learning ability.^{98, 99} As discussed previously, exposure to air pollution is associated with lower socioeconomic status,¹⁰⁰ and people of low SES are more likely to experience impaired cognitive function, due in part to this disproportionate exposure.^{101, 102, 103} Even short-term exposure to air pollutants, especially particulate matter, has been shown to cause inflammation of the brain, which leads to learning and memory disorders.¹⁰⁴ For example, various controlled studies have shown that students’ test scores are significantly lower on days with higher air pollution levels, and employees’ productivity also drops on days with increased pollution.^{105, 106}

Exposure to air pollution also affects children in serious ways and can begin even before birth. A mother's exposure to air pollution—especially the pollutants produced by burning coal, crude oil, and gasoline—during the second half of pregnancy and first few weeks of life have been shown to have a significantly negative impact on the child's neurodevelopment. Pollution especially impacts children's learning ability and has been shown to have an effect on cognitive functions and behavior.¹⁰⁷ Exposure to pollution in a developing child can affect the central nervous system and increase the risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or early onset schizophrenia.¹⁰⁸ According to the World Health Organization, children are at greater risk than adults from the many adverse effects of air pollution.¹⁰⁹ Pollution is especially detrimental for children, as it can greatly impair their ability to develop and learn while they are in their formative years.

Mental Health

While the physical health implications of overexposure to air pollution are relatively well known, the consequences of air pollution for mental health are usually less recognized, but equally important. Researchers agree that there is a statistically significant relationship between exposure to air pollution and mental health.¹¹⁰ Recent studies have also shown strong connections between overexposure to air pollution and mental health disorders in both children and adults.^{111, 112, 113} One study, which used a nationally representative sampling of US adults, found that moderate to severe anxiety symptoms were observed in those who were exposed to particulate matter, which can alter hormone levels like cortisol (the main stress hormone).¹¹⁴ As exposure to particulate matter increased, so did moderate to severe depressive symptoms.¹¹⁵ Increases in particulate matter, as well as other pollutants which result from the combustion of gas, oil and coal, are strongly associated with both depression in the elderly and suicide attempts in young people.¹¹⁶ Chronic exposure to air pollution by the age of twelve is an indicator of whether or not a child will be diagnosed with depression or anxiety by the age of eighteen.^{117, 118} Although one among many factors behind mental health among low-income individuals, exposure to particulate matter and other pollutants has measurable impacts on mental health for an individual and a community.

Increased exposure to air pollution leads to increased stress, anxiety, depression, and suicide

These links between mental health and air pollution were found to be even stronger among those of lower SES.¹¹⁹ Relationships between exposure to traffic-related air pollution, metabolic disturbances in the brain, and anxiety have been found among children living in disadvantaged neighborhoods.¹²⁰ These connections are even stronger for BIPOC individuals from lower SES communities.

Practices

Community Organizing

To get to the root of the problem of disproportionate exposure to air pollution in low income areas, the issue of disproportionate political power must be addressed. Community organizing—defined as “a field of practice in which residents collaboratively investigate and undertake sustained collective action regarding social issues of mutual concern”—has repeatedly been proven to be an effective method for influencing change at local, regional, and even national scales.¹²¹ Organizations which work to increase political participation with environmental issues among local communities, especially low-income communities, and which empower citizens to act on local environmental issues through lobbying, education, and community outreach, are an effective means of fighting the disproportionate effects of air pollution.^{122, 123} Individuals can be trained on how to lobby and contact their representatives about local issues involving air pollution, both locally and nationally. These individuals, in turn, can hold workshops to teach others in their community about the political process and teach and encourage them to lobby, and even accompany them as they do so. They can also increase public awareness about environmental issues and help influence public opinion so that more people are cognizant of the issues and well-informed on the politics surrounding them.

Impact and Gaps

Activist with a sign saying, "stope coal now!"

Numerous studies and organizations have determined that community organizing is one of the best ways of helping people, particularly people of lower SES, to get involved in the political process and become informed and active on local environmental issues.^{124, 125} Programs which are specifically designed to help low-income people learn about local environmental policies, how to lobby their representatives in government, and how to get involved in the political process have been found to be highly successful in getting community members involved with local environmental issues and with mitigating or lessening air pollution.¹²⁶

Some examples of this are these United States based non-governmental organizations such as HEAL Utah, Earthjustice, the Coalition for Clean Air, and Mom's Clean Air Force. HEAL Utah has worked with the community to fund $541,404 in 2020, which was used in air quality, nuclear waste, and clean energy/climate campaigns. In the air quality campaign, HEAL Utah focused on creating a policy that requires the Public Service Commission to create an electric charging infrastructure program.¹²⁷ Through community organizing efforts, new policies and legislations can be passed to decrease exposure to air pollution in low income communities. However, community organizing can be a very slow process. Citizen mobilization necessitates a lot of community involvement and coordination, which can be slow to facilitate especially in the beginning. Secondly, even when politicians are lobbied by community organizers, there is no guarantee that representatives will always vote the way their constituents want them to on environmental bills.

Preferred Citation: Currit, Elisabeth. “Disproportionate Exposure to Air Pollution for Low-Income Communities in the United States.” Ballard Brief. May 2022. www.ballardbrief.byu.edu.

Viewpoints published by Ballard Brief are not necessarily endorsed by BYU or The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints

Footnotes

United States

Elisabeth Currit

Elisabeth is an environmental science and sustainability major with a minor in international development. She is deeply passionate about a wide range of social and environmental issues, including air pollution, environmental justice, gender equality, and refugee aid, and she is especially interested in using GIS mapping and analysis to better visualize and understand these issues. While at BYU, she’s had the opportunity to research and write about many of these topics with a wide range of professors and students from various departments. Elisabeth loves to read, hike, do anything outdoors, and owns an astounding number of plants (this number is continually growing). After completing her undergraduate degree, she plans to attend grad school and get a PhD.