Geographic Variations in Urban-Rural Particulate Matter (PM2.5) Concentrations in the United States, 2010-2019.

ABSTRACT: Fine particulate matter 2.5 (PM2.5) is a widely studied pollutant with substantial health impacts, yet little is known about the urban-rural differences across the United States. Trends of PM2.5 in urban and rural census tracts between 2010 and 2019 were assessed alongside sociodemographic characteristics including race/ethnicity, poverty, and age. For 2010, we identified 13,474 rural tracts and 59,065 urban tracts. In 2019, 13,462 were rural and 59,055 urban. Urban tracts had significantly higher PM2.5 concentrations than rural tracts during this period. Levels of PM2.5 were lower in rural tracts compared to urban and fell more rapidly in rural than urban. Rural tract annual means for 2010 and 2019 were 8.51 [2.24] μg/m3 and 6.41 [1.29] μg/m3, respectively. Urban tract annual means for 20

SUBMITTER: Kilpatrick DJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11368819 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature