Air pollution is the introduction of chemicals, particulate matter, or biological materials that cause harm or inconvenience to humans or other living organisms, or damage the natural environment to the atmosphere. Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution in the United States, America has experienced many problems with environmental problems, especially air pollution. According to a 2009 report, about "60 percent of Americans live in areas where air pollution has reached an unhealthy level that can make people sick". Pollution in the United States has declined in the past decade, with pollution such as nitrogen dioxide declining despite the fact that the number of vehicles on the road is not. These changes are caused by better regulation, economic shifts, and technological innovation. With respect to nitrogen dioxide, NASA reported a 32% decline in New York City and a 42% decrease in Atlanta between the period 2005-2007 and 2009-2011. Air pollution can cause a variety of health problems including, but not limited to infection, behavioral changes, cancer, organ failure, and even premature death. This health effect is uneven in terms of race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, education, and others in the United States. California has the worst air quality in any state, and in most surveys, cities in California are ranked the top 5 or 10 of the most polluted air in the United States.
Video Air pollution in the United States
Clean Air Acts
In the 1960s, 1970s, and 1990s, the United States Congress passed a series of Clean Air Acts that significantly strengthened air pollution regulations. US states, some European countries, and finally the EU follow this initiative. The Clean Air Act establishes a numerical limit on the concentrations of the air pollutant base group and provides a reporting and enforcement mechanism.
In 1999, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) replaced the Pollution Standard Index (PSI) with the Air Quality Index (AQI) to include the new PM2.5 and Ozone standards.
The effect of this law is very positive. In the United States between 1970 and 2006, residents enjoyed the following annual pollution emissions reductions:
- carbon monoxide emissions fell from 197 million tonnes to 89 million tonnes
- nitrous oxide emissions drop from 27 million tonnes to 19 million tonnes
- sulfur dioxide emissions drop from 31 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes
- particulate emissions are down 80%
- lead emissions fell by more than 98%
In a letter in October 2006 to the EPA, the independent scientific advisor of the agency warned that the ozone haze standard "should be substantially reduced" and that "there is no scientific justification" to maintain current weak standards. Scientists unanimously recommend a fog threshold of 60 to 70 ppb after they conduct an extensive review of the evidence.
EPA has proposed, in June 2007, a new threshold of 75 ppb. It's less stringent than scientific recommendations, but more stringent than current standards.
Some industries are lobbying to maintain the current standards. Environmental activists and public health advocates are mobilizing to support scientific recommendations.
Maps Air pollution in the United States
International pollution
Overpowering dust blur with manmade sulphates, smoke, industrial smoke, carbon sand and nitrate across the Pacific Ocean with strong winds from the burgeoning Asian economy in such a vast stream that changes climate. Nearly a third of the air above Los Angeles and San Francisco can be traced directly to Asia. With it emerging up to three quarters of the carbon black particle pollution reaching the West Coast.
In the United States unhealthy levels of pollution are measured by the Environmental Protection Agency and independent researchers or agencies, such as the American Lung Association. Federal borders and pollution standards are defined by the Clean Air Act.
Health effects
Asthma
As air pollution increases, asthma symptoms worsen. Asthma etiology is poorly understood and there is currently no cure. There are many environmental factors associated with asthma. The main sources of environmental pollution are the burning of fossil fuels in combustion engines, dust generated by road surface traffic, and biomass used for cooking and heating. In urban areas, there is a high concentration of particulates, nitrogen dioxide, ozone, and other volatile organic compounds and can make breathing more difficult. The health effects of particulate matter with different diameters are related to the length of atmospheric particles and the location of respiratory tract infections Young people exposed to air pollution are particularly vulnerable. One of the reasons they are more vulnerable is because the average breathing pattern for an adult is 16 to 20 breaths per minute, while a 1-year-old child has a faster breathing pattern of 20 to 40 breaths per minute. Therefore, children will inhale more pollutants than adults.
Prenatal Exposure and links to asthma
Prenatal exposure to air pollution has affected the beginning of respiratory health in the womb. Mothers who are exposed to PM2.5 weekly during pregnancy, tend to have children diagnosed with asthma at 6 years of age. Many of the mothers exposed to PM2.5 were ethnic minorities (54% Hispanic, 30% black), had 12 or fewer years of education (66%), and did not smoke in pregnancy (80%). Children in the city from 5 to 11 years of age are diagnosed with asthma, due to prenatal exposure to phthalates, butylbenzyl phthalate (BBzP), di-n-butyl phthalate (DnBP), in (2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP)), and diethyl phthalate (DEP). These phthalates are detected in urine samples from 300 pregnant women.
Approximately seven million children suffer from asthma, which means 1 out of every 10 children, and that number continues to rise. Among African American children, one in six children suffers from asthma, which has risen from 50% since 2001. These respiratory problems account for 88% of premature deaths in low-income countries to the middle class in America. Population-based studies show that communities with a high proportion of African and Hispanic Americans experience high levels of asthma.
Exposure to New York Particle Particle Material Components
In a study conducted by Yale University, 'Environmental Inequality in Exposure to Particle Particle Components in the United States', Hispanics were exposed to 10 of 14 pollutants (eg, 152% higher than white for chlorine, 94% higher for aluminum) African Americans are exposed to 13 of 14 pollutants (eg, 43% higher for zinc, 25% for vanadium), and Asians have a higher exposure than whites (eg, 103% for chlorine, 69% for vanadium, 64% for nickel ). Some of the pollutants studied have been linked to asthma. In the Bronx, New York, 66% of individuals living near hazardous industrial facilities and bins tend to be hospitalized for asthma. It has been reported that people living in 1.86 km of toxic waste facilities in the United States are colored people and twice as likely as white residents to live within the fence zones of industrial facilities, contribute to air pollution, security issues, and health problems.
Heart Disease
In the United States, cardiovascular disease kills a person every 40 seconds. While the effects of air pollution on respiratory diseases are well understood, air pollution also affects the cardiovascular system at the same or higher levels of the respiratory system, and adverse cardiovascular health outcomes in children and adults is high when exposed to air pollution. Carbon monoxide, nitrogen oxide, sulfur dioxide, ozone, lead, and particles are also associated with increased hospitalization and death from cardiovascular disease. High chromosome damage among African American children and their mothers from Oakland, California are exposed to traffic and regional ozone levels. Coronary heart disease has been one of the leading causes of death in ethnic groups. One study found that PM
Indoor air pollution, caused by kerosene space heaters, cooking, wall paint, secondhand smoke and more, is also known to have links to cardiovascular disease. Increased risk of cardiovascular disease by indoor air pollution disproportionately affects people in the United States. The prevalence of exposure to cigarette smoke is higher in African-American populations and low-income populations, especially in those living below the poverty level. On the other hand, the risk of fatal cardiovascular disease is higher in African American men and women than in white men and women. For example, 25% of African American men have a 6.67% or greater increased risk of fatal cardiovascular disease while only 10% of white men have the same level of increased risk. In addition, one district-level study found that median income and educational attainment were the most significant factors associated with cardiovascular disease disparity in the United States.
Infection and cancer
Exposure to air pollution increases the risk of respiratory infections and cancer. Inhaled air pollutants damage the respiratory system and can cause infection or cancer. Respiratory and cancer infections are linked. Having a respiratory infection increases the risk of cancer and vice versa. In addition, studies have shown that the risk of respiratory infections and cancers caused by air pollution are not equitably distributed in terms of race, class, and geographical placement.
Infection
Although mechanistic associations between air and infectious pollution are unclear and require further research, several studies have shown that some air pollutants, including passive smokers, ozone (O 3 ), particulate matter (PM), and nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), may cause infection. According to the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), children have a higher risk for lower respiratory tract infections, such as pneumonia and bronchitis, if their parents smoke. The CPSC says that 150,000 to 300,000 children (under 18 months) are affected by lower respiratory tract infections that cause 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations each year based on EPA estimates. Exposure to higher NO2 levels or long-term exposure to low-level NO2 also leads to a higher risk of infection.
Biological air pollution can also cause infection. Small organisms that attack in the human body, such as bacteria, viruses, fungi, or parasites, can cause infection in the lung system. There are various infections because many different organisms can cause infection.
The prevalence of bacterial infections is uneven in terms of race and socioeconomic status. In the United States, bacterial pneumonia, caused by the bacterium Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) that enters the human body usually through inhalation, is significantly associated with morbidity and mortality among adults. The risk of being diagnosed with bacterial pneumonia more than doubled in African Americans compared with whites (RR = 2.40). Also the prevalence of bacterial pneumonia in Africa's poorest census region, 20% or more people in the region living below the federal poverty level, is 4.44 times higher than the poorest white census regions, less than 5% population in the region living below the federal poverty level, and 2.12 times higher than most areas of poor white census.
Cancer
Many studies have found that indoor and outdoor air pollution can increase the risk of respiratory cancer. Indoor pollution like tobacco smoking is responsible for lung cancer. External air pollution also increases the risk of lung cancer. A study found that the combination of formaldehyde and benzene is responsible for 60% of cancer-related health problems in the United States. Air pollutants can also cause other types of cancer. Another study found that harmful air pollutants (HAP) can cause cervical cancer and upper aero gastrointestinal cancer.
Cancer caused by air pollution is uneven in the United States. The incidence of cancer and mortality rates are higher in African Americans than in other races. A study conducted in Greater Houston, Texas showed that Hispanics and African-Americans had a higher risk of HAP cancer. People who live near the public transport show have a higher risk of HAP cancer as well. Furthermore, other studies have shown that very separate metropolitan areas have higher cancer risk estimates caused by air pollution. This trend is found for all racial groups, but the most powerful for Hispanics.
A study conducted in 2000 used geographic census data and outside nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentration data to examine the difference in NO2 air pollution across the United States. The study found that there is disproportional disparity both in terms of race and socioeconomic groups. Colored people are exposed to 4.6 ppb more than the average NO2 concentration compared to whites. Those living below the poverty level were exposed to 1.2 ppb more. Low-income Caucasians are exposed to NO2 concentrations of 3.4 ppb higher than Caucasians with high incomes. The study also reported a disproportionate disparity from exposure to NO2 concentrations by education level; those without secondary education are more likely to be exposed to higher concentrations. The association between NO2 exposure and cancer progression has been found in many studies.
The disproportionate effects of air pollution on human cancer risk are not only seen in racial differences. In one racial community, there is an uneven distribution of cancer risk. Among Hispanic populations in Miami, Florida, the risk of traffic-related cancers is not evenly distributed in terms of socioeconomic and home-country rates. Low-income Hispanic communities are more likely to have a higher risk of cancer-related traffic. Also, it was found that Hispanics from Cuba and Colombia had a higher risk of cancer caused by traffic associated with toxins.
Central nervous system
Air pollution has traditionally been linked to lung problems, but also affects the whole body. Nano-sized pollutants can enter the body by penetrating the pulmonary tissue after being inhaled and entering the bloodstream through the capillaries. Once inside the circulatory system, the heart will spread pollutants throughout the body. One of the places collected and affected by these pollutants is the brain and nervous system. The brain continues to change and grows throughout one's life by reorganizing its synaptic connections in changing circumstances. Therefore, the presence and accumulation of toxic pollutants in the brain can cause health problems, diseases, and behavioral changes and people living in communities with poor air quality, usually low income, and colorful people, are more likely to become ill than the wealthy , fair skin. community.
Brain Development
It was found that children living in areas of high air pollution, particularly high traffic pollution, tend to be worse on standardized testing. Very small black carbon (PM2.5), very light absorbent pollutants that mostly come from incomplete combustion of fuel. According to a study in 1986-2001 in Boston, children exposed to more carbon blacks were worse on the standardized tests given to them (Wide Range of Memory and Learning Assessments and the Kaufman Short Intelligence Test) in all subjects. In the study, there was also a relationship found between increased carbon black levels, worse test results and children who mainly spoke Spanish at home and had parents with low education. Similar research conducted on children in New York City. This time, the study looked at polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (PM2.5) found in coal, tar, and incomplete combustion emissions. All children in the study were African American or Dominican and found they had a lower mental development index score (MDI) and were more likely to experience cognitive developmental delays than their Caucasian counterparts living in less polluted parts of the city.
Other health issues
Air pollutant components such as heavy metals and reactive oxygen species can cause central nervous system health problems ranging from neuroinflammation to short-term memory disorders to Parkinson's. Particulate material (PM), especially ultrafine particles (UFPM), which make its way and stay around the brain also becomes a pro-inflammatory stimulus. This stimulus also causes neuroinflammation. Studies in humans and animals show that nerve inflammation causes neurodegenerative disease. A study showed that people aged 54.7 Ã, Â ± 4.8 years from highly polluted cities had significantly higher gene expression for inflammatory genes in their brains than residents in the same age group of cities less polluted. Despite the mechanisms of how PM causes neuroinflammation, many studies suggest that there is a correlation between air pollution induced by neuroinflammation and the development of Parkinson's and Alzheimer's Diseases.
Ozone is produced naturally and artificially (vehicles, refineries, plants, etc.). It is a very powerful oxidizing agent and when it is inhaled, it attacks the tissues by modifying the cell parts and it can create potentially toxic by the product. It was found that there was no correlation between estimated ozone effects for mortality and PM reading of an area. In other words, the damage done by ozone and by the PM can not be considered the same. Extended ozone-breathing periods cause damage to neurons and death, motor deficits, and memory deficits in humans and animals. Certain groups, such as African Americans, have a higher chance of having ozone-related health problems due to their higher ozone exposure. A study conducted in Los Angeles, CA shows that there is an increase of 12-15% in opportunities for a child to be born with or develop autism if parents live in areas with high ozone concentrations during childhood pregnancy. From hospital records, it was found that the majority of the parents were also Hispanic and were low income families. There are less autistic children born in the majority of white, highly educated, and high-income people. The same study also found that higher levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and nitric oxide (NO), both can undergo chemical reactions to form ozone, may also increase the likelihood of autism in children.
Disparities in the effects of air pollution
The health consequences of air pollution are often distributed unevenly between populations of a particular region, and can disproportionately affect certain groups of people with greater severity than others. Because of this, many studies have been devoted to differentiating determinants from increased pollutant exposure. Three factors highly correlated with increased risk include: race and ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and education. The underlying cause of this inequality may involve many systematic inequities that determine exposure to danger or access to healthy environmental conditions. This concept is known as environmental justice.
Race and ethnicity
In particular, colored people can be more susceptible to the harmful effects of air pollution. Research has revealed that colored people experience a significant difference in income distribution than their white counterparts. Therefore, many color communities live in poor neighborhoods and face unequal access to environmental health services and resources.
Environmental racism
Certain environmental injustices can be viewed as discriminating against racial minority communities. The study of environmental racism highlights disproportionate exposure to toxicity or inaccessibility of ecological benefits such as clean water, clean air, and natural resources. Also, environmental racism is concerned with situations where governments and large corporations target minority communities to start environmentally destructive projects. They found that in these communities, there was often less resistance and pressure to end these projects. When these projects are undertaken, the nearby households and small businesses in these minority communities are negatively affected, leading to health problems among children and an overall decline in living standards.
According to the 2014 Census, the average household income for African-Americans and Hispanics is about $ 43,300. On the other hand, white household income is around $ 71,300. Also, more than 91% of African-Americans and 86% Hispanics live in urban areas, whereas only about 70% of whites live in urban areas. Furthermore, in April 2017, three environmental groups - Justice Environment and Health Alliance for Chemical Policy Reform, Coming Net, and Center for Effective Governance - completed a study on the disproportionate burden of environmental impact. They define the "fenceline zone" as the area around a US chemical facility that has the greatest risk of death or injury after a potential chemical accident. They found that 134 million people living in the "border zone" were 75% more likely to be African-Americans, 60% more likely to be Latino, and 50% more likely to be classified as having low socioeconomic status. This study is intended not to underline the idea that the United States government fails to protect its people fairly and also encourages the government to update national chemical safety regulations. These factors strongly contribute to the fact that minority exposure to hazardous air pollutants ranges from 40% to 60% higher than white - evan because the air quality is slowly improving overall.
Socioeconomic status
Socioeconomic Status (SES) is the sociological and economic status of individuals or groups in society. Low socioeconomic status can be correlated with a greater risk of exposure to unsafe and unhealthy conditions. People with low socioeconomic status have unequal access to resources and security measures while people with higher socioeconomic status have greater access to health and safety resources/measures.
The impact of low SES and air pollution on health
People with low socioeconomic status may more often have poor health, so the effects of air pollution may pose additional health risks and shorter life spans in this population.
In the United States, racial and ethnic minorities, defined as colored people representing a small fraction of the total population, are socioeconomically disadvantaged, and have a history of discrimination in the past. There are four recognized minority groups in the United States: Asia and the Pacific Islands, African Americans, Hispanics, and Native Americans. Those with low socioeconomic status and colored people are more susceptible to short-term and long-term effects of air pollution. Short-term health effects of air pollution include but are not limited to bronchitis or pneumonia, often headaches, dizziness, and nausea. Some of the long-term health effects are lung cancer and respiratory diseases, heart disease, and organ damage, and irreversible nerve damage.
People with low socioeconomic status were found to be more susceptible to air pollution, PM 2.5, because of their location. PM 2.5 is an air pollutant, arising from a mixture of power plants, refineries, and diesel engines, among other sources, and these particles penetrate the lungs. Communities of low socioeconomic status are often concentrated in areas near highways, busy roads, and refineries. Therefore, limiting one's exposure to air pollution in a poor environment is almost impossible. Low socio-economic status communities face unequal access to environmental health services and resources.
Factors of environmental differences due to low socioeconomic status
They are generally divided into three categories:
- A sociopolitical explanation of where a hazardous facility lies in a community where they have no political capital to influence the discussion
- Market-based explanations where people living in contaminated areas have lower property values ​​
- Racial discrimination in hazardous facility placement.
Education status
In many ways, socioeconomic status determines the level of education one can attain. According to the literature, there is a lower level for students from low socioeconomic status communities to gain access to higher levels of education compared to students from more affluent societies. Further research shows that there is a significant correlation between income and educational attainment. Therefore, although education may not have a direct correlation with environmental inequality exposure, it can still be an indirect indicator of differences in the distribution of environmental burdens.
Environmental Justices and Trump Administration
Implications on Clean Power Plan
The Clean Power Plan is a policy designed by the Obama Administration to reduce the level of carbon dioxide emitted by power plants in the United States. The large estimates of the positive externalities of the plan include the reduction of air pollutants by up to 25% and the elimination of serious health linkages for those living near plants and chemical facilities that emit carbon dioxide such as a considerable reduction of premature death and asthma attacks among children. In addition, although the production work of steel, cement, and refining tends to decline on a large scale, it is expected to be eliminated by explosions in production and employment opportunities in the solar and wind power sectors.
The plan was inaugurated on 3 August 2015, but the continuation of the plan is now in question when the Trump Administration is expected to eliminate policy during Donald Trump's presidency. On March 28, 2017, President Donald Trump embarked on the first step to remove the Clean Power Plan when he signed an executive order mandating the Environmental Protection Agency to review its plans and policies.
Restrictions on the Environmental Protection Agency
Environmental racism can be defined as an environmental injustice practice that disproportionately affects the environment and minority communities. Not only are residents of California very racial, but because California is a major air polluter and consequently spending extra time, money and resources to develop technologies that ensure air pollution does not harm the environment, its climate policy is one of the most technologically important in developed countries. In March 2017, the Trump Administration is expected to withdraw federal exemptions granting the Environmental Protection Agency and California the power to efficiently monitor and regulate greenhouse gas pollution from car exhaust. Environmental agencies and environmental rights activists point out that this action will certainly cause problems for California's important climate policy; as well as further exacerbating the spread of disproportionate environmental health problems to color environments in all California counties across the state.
Paris Agreement
Donald Trump has suggested that the Trump Administration encourages the United States to come out of the Paris Treaty, an agreement made on 12 December 2015 in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to regulate global climate change as a whole. The Paris Agreement creates policies and regulations for sustainable development of all regions of the world with the aim of developing technologies that will significantly reduce global greenhouse gas emissions and improve the ability of all countries to adapt to the effects of climate change doubling. Until April 2017, 195 countries have signed agreements and 143 countries have ratified them, already adopting certain policies called for by the treaty. EU energy officials really expressed their concern that the United States would be out of agreement and convinced that this action would have a major negative impact on the state of the global environment.
Independent Energy Executive Order
The Energy Independence Order was issued by the Trump Administration to be designed to promote energy resources and economic growth by cutting regulatory burden on energy production such as coal, natural gas, nuclear material, running water, and other domestic sources, including renewable sources. To ensure that electricity Nations are affordable, reliable, safe, secure, and clean, all agencies should respect their appropriate role of Congress and the States on these matters in our constitutional republic. Environmental regulations must comply with the law, have greater benefits than the cost to the American people, and are developed through the best available science and economics.
The Rise of the Coal Industry
Trump promised to revive the coal industry and bring back coal-related work. To fulfill its promise, on February 16, 2017, Trump signed a bill abrogating the Stream Protection Rules signed during the Obama administration. The bill initially helps prevent coal mining from pollution waterways. Burning coal produces air pollutants such as nitrogen oxides (NO X ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), particles (PM X ), Black carbon , and smog. Increasing the use of coal will greatly increase air pollution especially in the area around the many facilities located in the color community and low income.
Environmental Health Education
The status of education here refers not only to the educational background or the highest level that people gain, but more importantly, environmental health education. Generally, lower-educated populations are more likely to be affected by air pollution. For example, in the United States, people with high school levels have a 6.2% higher estimate of PM 2.5 exposure compared to those who have a bachelor's degree. In addition to PM 2.5, people with a secondary or lower school degree are estimated to have at least 10% more exposure to Al, Ca, Cl, EC, SI, TI, V, and Zn when compared to people with undergraduate degrees. Therefore, environmental health education can be one of the most effective approaches to increase public awareness on environmental issues.
Before 2017, the EPA has spent more than $ 8.7 million on environmental education annually to improve public knowledge and awareness of current environmental issues and their consequences. They aim to promote the popularization of skills and knowledge needed for the public to make decisions and participate in activities that lead to the resolution of environmental challenges.
Until March 2017, the EPA budget has greatly affected the condition of environmental education. The federal budget of the United States 2018 cut about $ 2.5 billion from about 8 billion annual budgets for the EPA, and the budget for environmental education was cut from $ 8.7 million to $ 0.555 million, which was reduced by 94%.
Air pollution in California
California air is the most polluted in the US.
Los Angeles air pollution
Los Angeles has the most contaminated air in the country. With a population of around 10 million, the Los Angeles area is a large basin with the Pacific Ocean to the west, and some mountains with an 11,000 ft peak to the east and south. Diesel engines, ports, motor vehicles, and industry are the main sources of air pollution in Los Angeles. The sunny days and low rainfall contribute to the formation of ozone, as well as the high level of fine particles and dust. A strong relationship between AQI and ozone levels can be found on air pollution maps.
Air pollution in Los Angeles has caused widespread concern. In 2011, the California Public Policy Survey (PPIC) on California and the Environment showed that 45% of people in Los Angeles consider air pollution a "big problem", and 47% believe that Los Angeles air quality is worse than 10 years ago. In 2013, the Los Angeles-Long Beach-Riverside area ranks 1 of the most polluted cities of ozone, the fourth most polluted city by annual particle pollution, and the city's most polluted by 24-hour particle pollution.
Both ozone and particle pollution are harmful to human health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) involves a panel of expert scientists, the Advisory Committee on Clean Water Sciences, to help them assess the evidence. EPA released their latest review of current research on the health threats of ozone and particle pollution.
EPA Concludes Ozone Pollution Causing Serious Health Threats
- Causes respiratory problems (eg worsening asthma, worsening COPD, inflammation)
- Possible cause of premature death (both short and long term exposure)
- Possible causes of cardiovascular damage (eg heart attack, stroke, heart disease, congestive heart failure)
- May cause damage to the central nervous system
- May cause reproductive and developmental disorders
- US Environmental Protection Agency, Integrated Science Assessment for Ozone and Related Photochemical Related, 2013. EPA/600/R-10/076F.
EPA Concludes Smooth Particle Pollution Experiencing Serious Health Threats
- Causes premature death (both short and long term exposure)
- Causes cardiovascular damage (eg heart attack, stroke, heart disease, congestive heart failure)
- Possible causes of respiratory distress (eg worsening asthma, worsening COPD, inflammation)
- May cause cancer
- May cause reproductive and developmental disorders
-WE. Environmental Protection Agency, Integrated Scoring Assessment for Particulate Matter, December 2009. EPA 600/R-08/139F.
Helping the region to meet national air quality standards and improving the health of the local population continues to be a priority for EPA. One of EPA's highest priorities is to support reductions in diesel emissions from ships, trucks, locomotives and other diesel engines. In 2005, Congress approved funding for the Diesel Emissions Reduction Act (DERA), a grant program, managed by the EPA, to selectively engineer or replace older diesel engines that are most likely to impact human health. Since 2008, the DERA program has achieved remarkable results from improving air quality. The EPA also works with state and local partners to reduce emissions from port operations and to improve efficient transport of goods through the region. Both the EPA and the Port of Los Angeles are partners of the San Pedro Port Clean Air Action Plan, a sweeping plan aimed at reducing the health risks posed by air pollution from ships, trains, trucks, port equipment and ports associated with ports. craft. For environmental justice, air pollution in low-income LA communities has received more attention. In 2011, the "Clean up Green up" campaign was launched to appoint four low-income LA communities - Pacoima, Boyle Heights and Wilmington. The campaign aims to encourage the green industry through incentives, including aid for obtaining permits and taxes and utility rebates.
Although the level of air pollution in Los Angeles has declined slightly over the last few decades, residents in Los Angeles are still suffering from high levels of air pollution and the current rate of return to where they were 10 years ago.
Air Pollution and Low SES Community in California
Interactive interactive map of the US Environmental Protection Agency - EJSCREEN - features low-socio-economic communities across the country that are more vulnerable to air pollution and related health risks. As this map shows, the Southeast Los Angeles County neighborhood, especially the impoverished areas of San Joaquin Valley and Inland Empire, faces a higher exposure to air pollution and environmental injustice. In such areas, those in poverty-stricken areas have unequal access to health and environmental safety resources. This poverty-stricken environment is often located in areas close to highways, hazardous facilities, and/or rail yards.
The agency of environmental injustice
Diabetes in Latin children Los Angeles County
In 2017, researchers found that diabetes in Latino children living in Los Angeles was associated with air quality. A study led by the University of Southern California was the first of its kind to follow the health and residential air pollution levels of the same children for several years. The subjects of this study were overweight Latino children, between the ages of eight and fifteen, living in areas with high particulate content and nitrogen dioxide levels, air pollution caused nearby power plants and high-volume vehicle traffic. The results showed that children had a significantly increased risk of type 2 diabetes by the time they were eighteen, as the efficiency of pancreatic cells secreting insulin secreted. Insulin resistance resulting from such conditions is a direct cause of diabetes onset.
Diabetes mellitus is a disease characterized by the inability of the body to regulate blood sugar (or blood sugar) properly. Prolonged high blood sugar can lead to severe health complications such as heart disease, nerve damage, kidney failure, blindness, or even premature death. As diabetes becomes an increasing epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 8 million Americans may have undiagnosed diabetes or predecessors. Conventional medical findings suggest that an unhealthy or dense calorie diet, lack of physical activity, and family history are risk factors for developing the disease; However, recent studies began tracking the relationship between type 2 diabetes and external factors of air pollution. Since socioeconomic status, race, and exposure to air pollution are often correlated, the CDC recognizes certain socioeconomic conditions or races as pre-existing risk factors for Type 2 diabetes, other than those previously enrolled. Statistics show that Hispanic people are 50% more likely to die of diabetes than whites, and studies focusing on environmental injustice issues are able to point out possible reasons for this disparity.
School distance to vehicular traffic in Culver City
The spatial setting of the California community plays a major role in determining the concentrated air pollution exposure of the southern states. In one of the suburbs of Los Angeles, El Marino Language School is located next to ten Interstate 405 lanes. Students of these schools, often of basic age, are subject to dramatic increases in pollution levels from car emissions, including carcinogenic compounds. The health effects of traffic pollution include the onset of cardiovascular disease, asthma, impaired lung function, premature death, and most other complications. In addition, the development of an incomplete childhood respiratory system causes the effects of air pollution when compared to the health effects of the same pollution in adults.
Although the health consequences of vehicle pollution are widely recognized and some laws have been put in place to reduce their impact, very little real action has been taken. In 2003, California passed the Senate Bill. 352, which prohibits the construction of new schools within 500 feet of the highway with certain exceptions. However, the bill remains ignored because 1 in 5 schools opened between 2014 and 2015 still violate the ban. In 2015, the Environmental Protection Agency released a report entitled "Best Practices for Reducing Near-School Pollution Exposure in Schools", available online and in-print. However, without any conditions regarding school placement from the US Department of Education, state-funded schools are not obliged to follow the guidelines. The reluctance of public schools to comply with safety regulations often stems from monetary limitations that encourage the use of cheap land, a dilemma that disproportionately affects children from impoverished areas; the report notes that minority and low-income students have a higher prevalence of attendance in public schools in urban areas, such as large cities where busy streets and schools share areas.
Fracking Violations in the Kern County School Zone
Fracking oil is a process that involves injection of high-pressure liquid into the soil to extract oil. The adverse environmental impact of this natural gas extraction is the subject of much controversy, a major concern that surrounds the contamination of water and air sources around it. These risks occur when underground drinking water and surface water are exposed to discharges of chemically incorporated fracking liquids due to faulty construction or operation, discharge leaks, or other unwanted by-products such as the release of harmful volatile compounds into the air. In the case of air pollution, "hydrofracking" causes harm to the environment and human health. A large amount of methane, a greenhouse gas, escapes into the Earth's atmospheric ozone layer during the extraction process, where they accelerate the impact of climate change. Furthermore, airborne contaminants such as nitrogen oxide, carbon monoxide, formaldehyde and hydrogen sulphide released during drilling have been shown to cause harmful effects ranging from cancer, organ failure, neurological problems, to birth defects.
By 2015, a study revealed that there are forty-five fracking sites within 1.5 miles of one junior high in Shafter City, one of the ten most polluted communities in California. Students from this community suffer from state decisions to allow oil companies to continue hydraulic fractures near their schools. Parents observed severe and unexplained health complications among their children, including asthma and epilepsy, which may be correlated with air toxins from nearby wells. In all Kern areas, where Shafter is located, ten surprising school districts sit within a mile of a fragmented well. The situation becomes more problematic when the fact that Kern County is dominated by Latinos in racial/ethnic composition is considered; In fact, 20% or more of its citizens are emigrants born in Asia and Latin America. Some argue that the concentration of fracking sites around color populations is a discriminatory practice in the direct violation of California Code 11135, which states that no person will be unlawfully subject to discrimination by state or country institutions funded on the basis of race or ethnic group identification.
Inequality in cumulative environmental loads among three urban areas in California
In 2012, this study used the Cumulative Environmental Danger Cognitive Index (CEHII) method, which is a model developed for environmental inequalities in the dangers of air pollution, to analyze environmental inequality in three counties in California: Alameda, San Diego and Los Angeles (Jason et al., 2012). In addition to frequently used air pollution parameters such as NO2, PM 2.5 and PM diesel, heat stress metrics are included for analysis because excessive hot weather becomes an environmental problem that can threaten human health.
The results show that the color community assumes greater air pollution including NO2, PM 2.5, PM 10, and heat stress compared to a predominantly white and more prosperous society. In San Diego County, relative heat relative imbalances are established to be the highest. Also, significant heat pressure inequalities were observed in Los Angeles. The results show that in these two districts, there is a strong positive correlation between the percentage of Non-Whites in the community and the heat pressure inequality. However, in Alameda county, the results show the opposite pattern that shows. Communities with higher white populations experience extreme temperatures. This may be explained by the fact that the whites and the more affluent classes in Alameda County mainly live in the eastern region farther away from the coast, resulting in exposure to higher heat pressures.
Also, research verifies that poverty status is consistent with the tendency of disproportionate burden of race-ethnic status. Since the analysis was conducted in accordance with poverty status and not race-ethnic status for air pollutants NO2, PM2.5, and PM diesel, the results showed similar results as an analysis of heat stress. Furthermore, from our data, we found a strong correlation between poverty and the proportion of non-white populations (Alameda: r = 0.69, Los Angeles: r = 0.77). After all, this study shows that air pollution is disproportionately distributed according to socioeconomic and racial-ethnic status in the United States.
As the direction of future studies, he plans to classify the inequalities that exist in African Americans, Hispanics, Asians, and other ethnic groups. Furthermore, the techniques used in this study provide a way to assess environmental inequality and the results can be used to assist decision makers in an effort to address environmental inequalities.
Propose a coal terminal in West Oakland
In February 2016, the city of Oakland announced a construction plan for Oakland Bulk and Oversized Terminal, a bulk exporting facility in West Oakland. As a predominantly Latino and African-American community, West Oakland residents live in communities that suffer from harmful levels of air pollution. The construction of this port and the proposed partnership with the Utah coal mine will place the city as a coal exporter on the West Coast. To fund such a goliate project in the face of strong resistance from the city council fighting to protect their local communities from drastically increasing emissions of pollution, Utah state and state officials set up a controversial $ 53 million loan. The fund, comprised of taxpayer dollars targeted for local projects, will allow annual shipments of 9 million tonnes of coal through Oakland and a 19% increase in national coal exports. Movement by environmentalists is growing rapidly, stating that exposure to toxic coal dust will also cause residents of the city to have an increased risk of bronchitis, pneumonia, heart disease, emphysema, and more.
In response, thousands of Oakland residents and environmental rights activists worked together to prevent the construction of the coal terminal. In July 2016, the Oakland City Council decided to ban coal handled and stored in Oakland City. The decision marked a major victory for the newly created Department of Race and Equality, an organization designed to protect the Oakland-African-American community from social and racial inequalities. According to the report "Toxic and Raw Waste in the United States" issued by the East Bay Community Foundation, those living in West Oakland have found pollution pollution five times more per person than the inhabitants of Oakland, and children living in West Oakland seven times more likely to be hospitalized for asthma than the average child in California. West Oakland residents are more likely to face a decline in life expectancy and visits to an asthma-related emergency room. For a city that already bears a disproportionate environmental burden, the struggle for a coal-free Oakland is successful for the advocates of environmental justice.
Rate pollution rate 2013
See also
- Ambient National Air Quality Standard
- Air Spare Program (California)
- GHG emissions by the United States
- Climate change in the United States
References
External links
- American Lung Association State of the Air 2013
- "NATA | Assessment of Air Toxics National Scale | Air Technology Technologies Transfer Network Technology US EPA". Epa.gov. 2006-06-28 . Retrieved 2012-12-11 .
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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