Many U.S. neighborhoods with the worst air 40 years ago remain the most polluted
Not all air is created equal. While air quality has improved across the United States in recent decades, significant disparities persist in terms of who breathes the worst air. Communities exposed to the most air pollution in the 1980s — often poor and with high proportions of Black and Hispanic residents — are largely in the same position today, researchers report in the July 31 Science. Lots of different pollutants can clog the air, but scientists are especially interested in particulate matter less than 2.5 microns in diameter. Called PM2.5, the tiny particles are associated with myriad health problems, including cardiovascular disease, respiratory illness, diabetes and neurological problems (SN: 9/19/17). Marginalized communities, often closer to factories or major roadways than whiter, wealthier communities, bear the brunt of PM2.5 pollution. That exposure contributes to stark racial health inequities in the United States. “There hasn’t been clear documentation of how these disparities have evolved over time,”...