Racial Gap Between Air Pollution Causation and Exposure

Ecology and Environment

MSI PI Jason Hill (associate professor, Bioproducts and Biosystems Engineering; Fellow, Institute on the Environment) and his colleagues have published a study that shows racial inequity in pollution exposure. In a study published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA (PNAS), they show that, while whites’ consumption patterns contribute more to air pollution, the effects more seriously affect black and Hispanic Americans. The multifaceted, six-year study investigated the sources and distribution of PM2.5 (particulate matter, a major health risk factor), population demographics, health effects of PM2.5 exposure, and consumer expenditure patterns.

The study can be found on the PNAS website: Inequity in Consumption of Goods and Services Adds to Racial-Ethnic Disparities in Air Pollution Exposure.

A story also appears on the University’s News site: Research Brief: Black and Hispanic Minorities in the US Bear a Disproportionate Burden From Air Pollution.

The study has received attention from a number of media outlets:

Professor Hill uses MSI for studies of air pollution and its effects. His research was featured on the MSI website in July 2017 (A New Computer Model for Air Pollution) and February 2015 (Effects of Alternative Fuels on Air Quality).

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