“We need to look at the intersection of race and socioeconomic status to really understand how structural racism, differences in access to health care, and economic disparity play a role,” said Francesca Dominici, a biostatistics professor at Harvard and senior author on the study.
Why this is important
The new research could inform a crucial Environmental Protection Agency decision to tighten limits on fine particulate matter, including soot, which can come from construction sites, smokestacks, diesel trucks, power plants and other industrial activity. Wildfire smoke is also a major source of particulate matter pollution
In January, the E.P.A. proposed a draft rule that would tighten limits on fine particulate matter from the current standard of 12 micrograms per cubic meter to a level between 9 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter. The administration has estimated that the guidance could prevent as many as 4,200 premature deaths each year.
However, some environmental justice advocates have said that the rule should strengthen the standard even more to protect the most vulnerable communities. The findings from the new research reveal that there are potentially “real, meaningful differences” between setting the limit at 10 micrograms versus a stricter 8 micrograms, said Scott Delaney, an author on the study and an epidemiologist at Harvard.
There are likely tens of millions of Americans who live in communities with levels of PM 2.5 between 8 and 10 micrograms per cubic meter, said Joshua Apte, an associate professor of civil and environmental engineering at the University of California, Berkeley, who did not work on the study. “Those people could be left behind by the new standard.”