Satellite data reveal that diesel trucking drives inequality in US air pollution

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Satellite data reveal that diesel trucking drives inequality in US air pollution

An analysis of nearly 2 years of satellite data from major US cities shows widespread inequality in exposure to the air pollutant nitrogen dioxide from neighborhood to neighborhood. On average, people with incomes at or below the poverty line and who are members of marginalized racial and ethnic groups are exposed to about 28% greater concentrations of NO 2 than higher-income White people living in the same city, the study finds. And it ties this inequity to heavy-duty diesel trucking ( Geophys. Res. Lett. 2021, DOI: 10.1029/2021GL094333 ). Nitrogen dioxide irritates the respiratory system. It also reacts to form ozone and particulate matter, both of which have adverse health effects. Last year, University of Virginia atmospheric chemist Sally Pusede and PhD student Mary Angelique Demetillo used data from a NASA flight campaign to validate the use of satellite measurements to examine variations in NO 2 within a city. They demonstrated

Analysis of data from 52 major cities shows lower diesel traffic reduces NO₂ exposure inequality along racial, ethnic, and economic lines

10.1021/cen-09932-polcon3-trucks-gr1

Diesel trucks, such as those that transport goods out of the Port of Oakland, are the primary source of inequality in NO₂ levels in the US. (Credit: Sheila Fitzgerald/Shutterstock)

truckssemisdieselshippingportPhoto of trucks lined up on a city street with a bridge in the background.