Inequity in consumption of goods and services adds to racial-ethnic disparities in air pollution exposure.

ABSTRACT: Fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) air pollution exposure is the largest environmental health risk factor in the United States. Here, we link PM_2.5 exposure to the human activities responsible for PM_2.5 pollution. We use these results to explore "pollution inequity": the difference between the environmental health damage caused by a racial-ethnic group and the damage that group experiences. We show that, in the United States, PM_2.5 exposure is disproportionately caused by consumption of goods and services mainly by the non-Hispanic white majority, but disproportionately inhaled by black and Hispanic minorities. On average, non-Hispanic whites experience a "pollution advantage": They experience ∼17% less air pollution exposure than is caused by their

SUBMITTER: Tessum CW 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6442600 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature