Environmental Inequality
The youth of today is working hard to bridge gaps between gender, income, and racial inequality all over the country, but a disparity that not many think about is environmental injustice. While more developing countries are gaining access to clean water and decreasing water-based pollution, air pollution has been on the rise in developing countries. Due to high market demand, countries like China and India have produced some of the most polluted and deadliest cities in the world. Globally, seven million people die each year due to prolonged exposure to airborne contaminants; 90% of these deaths occur in poor or lower income countries (Watts, 2018). The method of pollution control developing countries tends to focus on the dilution of contaminants; however, in rapidly growing countries, it is nearly impossible to dilute the ever-increasing amount of contaminants enough to where the air and water meet federal regulations.
Every day three million people — mostly women and children — breathe in deadly smoke from open fire stoves used for cooking and heat in their homes in developing countries. This type of household air pollution has contributed to over 3.8 million deaths over the world (Watts, 2018). Clean air can help prevent tens of thousands for premature deaths, as well as reduce the number of people struggling with asthma and chronic lung and heart problems (EPA, 2016). While air quality is experiencing an upward trend in most of the United States and Europe, 70% of the cities in Asia and Africa are suffering from worsening air quality (Hajat, et al.). In these cities, ambient contaminants from factories, cars, and fires are currently causing a third of all deaths due to lung cancer and a fourth of all deaths due to heart attacks (Watts). China has seen one of the most severe cases of air pollution due to the rapid industrialization of their nation. In 2013, air pollution levels surpassed ten times the national limit, gaining the term “airpocalypse,” and prompted nationwide protests (Carrington). However, these cities are working hard to solve this dilemma. The Indian government, for example, has provided 27 million low-income women with free liquefied petroleum gas connections in order to eliminate the need for open fire stoves.
The United States and Canada consist of the only region where a sizeable majority of people, about 80%, breathes air that meets WHO guidelines on particulates; this number is close to 0% in the Middle East and Asia (Watts). However, Air pollution inequality is still extremely prevalent in the United States. People of color, especially children and the elderly with a lower socioeconomic status are exposed to excessive residential NO2 and other ambient pollutants (Clark, et al.). In fact, NO2 concentrations were reported to be almost 40% higher in neighborhoods consisting of primarily people of color (Millet, et al.) Exposure to NO2 is dramatically unequal over neighborhood lines, this is because NO2 emissions are linked to automobile exhaust and found almost exclusively in neighborhoods surrounding highways (Samuels). Lower income urban neighborhoods tend to be in close proximity major highways, and are exposed to many pollutants. In fact, transportation is the cause of over 75% of carbon monoxide pollution, one third of smog, and 27% of greenhouse gas emissions in the country (ucsus). The hundreds of chemicals and additives used in gasoline can produce volatile organic compounds, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen oxides, which cause smog. In the 1970s, the government began enforcing regulation on air pollution, this lead to the widespread adoption of catalytic converters. These devices are able to greatly reduce carbon monoxide, hydrocarbons, and nitrous oxides, but they do not reduce the amount of carbon dioxide, which is an extremely harmful greenhouse gas (ucsus). Catalytic converters are extremely reliable at reducing pollution caused by transportation and have an efficiency of converting pollutants to less harmful compounds of approximately 90%. However, catalytic converters are less efficient when used with diesel engines, like those found in developing countries. This is due to the fact that diesel engines produce more particulate matter (ucsus). As the amount of vehicle miles increases every year, it is imperative that we take steps to mitigate the effect this is having on our environment and on public health.
As an Environmental Engineer, I have had the ability to understand the effects of air pollution on a scientific level, as well as a humanitarian level. I learned about the different types of pollutants, the effects of various pollutants on human health and the environment, how to sample air quality using a variety of different sensors, and how to analyze air quality monitors. Our class conducted a semester long project on studying indoor and outdoor air quality in various regions in Austin. The pollutants of primary concern were PM 2.5, NO2 and NOx, and Hazardous Air Pollutants (HAPs). Particulate matter, especially fine particles, can cause irreversible damage to the cardiovascular system by triggering heart attacks and strokes. PM 2.5 is also linked to respiratory effects, such as chronic asthma. PM 2.5 is also responsible for reduced visibility, or the haze that can be seen on days with substandard air quality. Short-term exposure to NO2 and NOx can lead to respiratory symptoms, while long-term exposure can lead to the development of asthma and respiratory infections. Nitrogen oxides are especially dangerous in terms of environmental effects because they react with volatile organic compounds to form ozone, another pollutant that is dangerous to human and environmental health. HAPs can cause a wide variety of health problems to those exposed. Some short-term effects of HAPs are irritated eyes, noses, and throats, as well as difficulty breathing, while long-term effects include certain types of cancers and damage to the “immune, neurological, reproductive, and respiratory systems,” (EPA, 2016). Though our data was limited to five places within the city limits, we were able to see trends of higher concentrations of pollutants surrounding areas like I-35 and East Austin. East Austin consists of primarily minorities living in lower-income areas. Our analysis showed that the residents of East Austin were exposed to more NO2 due to their proximity to the highway. Though air pollution is the United States is decreasing overall, it is crucial that we recognize the existence of pollution “hot spots” in cities and industrial areas, which experience a extreme and deadly levels of pollutants on a daily basis.
Environmental inequality is not limited to air pollution; water contamination is an ongoing problem that many developing countries and Americans in Flint and the Colonias are facing today. People of lower socioeconomic status face double jeopardy due to a higher exposure to environmental hazards combined with a lack of appropriate and sufficient healthcare, while people of higher socioeconomic status have access to more resources that are able to protect them from exposure to pollutants like indoor work environments, higher quality buildings, and private transportation (Hajat, et al.)
It is necessary that scientists and politicians come together to address these public health disparities. Researchers have found that the best way to mitigate this issue is by “issuing new emission permits, targeting enforcement of existing permits, crafting zoning rules for pollution sources, and creating low-emission zones,” all while crafting pollution reduction methods, comprising of educational content and outreach activities (Nguyen, et al.). In order to close the gap of environmental inequality, the entire community needs to be educated about the health implications of these hazardous pollutants and we need to hold our elected officials accountable. Access to clean water and air should be a human right, not a privilege based on socioeconomic status.
Works Cited:
Carrington, Damian. “‘Airpocalypse’ Smog Events in China Linked to Melting Ice Cap, Research Reveals.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 15 Mar. 2017, www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/mar/15/airpocalypse-smog-events-linked-to-global-warming-research-reveals.
Clark, Lara P, et al. National Patterns in Environmental Injustice and Inequality: Outdoor NO2 Air Pollution in the United States. 15 Apr. 2014, journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0094431.
EPA. “Our Nation’s Air 2016.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 2016, gispub.epa.gov/air/trendsreport/2016/.
Hajat, Anjum, and Charlene Hsia. “Socioeconomic Disparities and Air Pollution Exposure: A Global Review.” National Center for Biotechnology Information , US National Library of Medicine — National Institutes of Health, Dec. 2016, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4626327/.
Kampa, Marilena, and Elias Castanas. “Human Health Effects of Air Pollution.” Science Direct , Elsevier, 10 June 2017, citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.465.5144&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
Millet, Dylan B, et al. “Changes in Transportation-Related Air Pollution Exposures by Race-Ethnicity and Socioeconomic Status: Outdoor Nitrogen Dioxide in the United States in 2000 and 2010.” Environmental Health Perspectives , 14 Sept. 2017, ehp.niehs.nih.gov/doi/10.1289/EHP959.
Nguyen, Nam P, and Julian D Marshall. “Impact, Efficiency, Inequality, and Injustice of Urban Air Pollution: Variability by Emission Location.” IOPScience, 24 Jan. 2018, iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748–9326/aa9cb5/meta.
Samuels, Michelle. “Air Pollution Inequality Growing in Massachusetts | BU Today | Boston University.” Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) | Human Resources, BU Today, 12 Jan. 2018, www.bu.edu/today/2018/air-pollution-inequality-growing-in-massachusetts/.
“Vehicles, Air Pollution, and Human Health.” UCS, Union of Concerned Scientists, www.ucsusa.org/clean-vehicles/vehicles-air-pollution-and-human-health.
Watts, Jonathan. “Air Pollution Inequality Widens between Rich and Poor Nations.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 1 May 2018, www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/01/air-pollution-inequality-widens-between-rich-and-poor-nations.
WHO. “Ambient and Household Air Pollution and Health.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 4 May 2018, www.who.int/airpollution/data/en/.
