Unequal airborne exposure to toxic metals associated with race, ethnicity, and segregation in the USA.

ABSTRACT: Persons of color have been exposed to a disproportionate burden of air pollution across the United States for decades. Yet, the inequality in exposure to known toxic elements of air pollution is unclear. Here, we find that populations living in racially segregated communities are exposed to a form of fine particulate matter with over three times higher mass proportions of known toxic and carcinogenic metals. While concentrations of total fine particulate matter are two times higher in racially segregated communities, concentrations of metals from anthropogenic sources are nearly ten times higher. Populations living in racially segregated communities have been disproportionately exposed to these environmental stressors throughout the past decade. We find evidence, however, that these dispro

SUBMITTER: Kodros JK 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9626599 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature