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. 2022 Dec 1;6(12):e2022GH000672.
doi: 10.1029/2022GH000672. eCollection 2022 Dec.

Disparities in Air Pollutants Across Racial, Ethnic, and Poverty Groups at US Public Schools

Michael J Cheeseman  1 , Bonne Ford  1 , Susan C Anenberg  2 , Matthew J Cooper  3 , Emily V Fischer  1 , Melanie S Hammer  4 , Sheryl Magzamen  5 , Randall V Martin  4 , Aaron van Donkelaar  4 , John Volckens  6 , Jeffrey R Pierce  1
Affiliations

Disparities in Air Pollutants Across Racial, Ethnic, and Poverty Groups at US Public Schools

Michael J Cheeseman et al. Geohealth. .

Abstract

We investigate socioeconomic disparities in air quality at public schools in the contiguous US using high resolution estimates of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) concentrations. We find that schools with higher proportions of people of color (POC) and students eligible for the federal free or reduced lunch program, a proxy for poverty level, are associated with higher pollutant concentrations. For example, we find that the median annual NO2 concentration for White students, nationally, was 7.7 ppbv, compared to 9.2 ppbv for Black and African American students. Statewide and regional disparities in pollutant concentrations across racial, ethnic, and poverty groups are consistent with nationwide results, where elevated NO2 concentrations were associated with schools with higher proportions of POC and higher levels of poverty. Similar, though smaller, differences were found in PM2.5 across racial and ethnic groups in most states. Racial, ethnic, and economic segregation across the rural-urban divide is likely an important factor in pollution disparities at US public schools. We identify distinct regional patterns of disparities, highlighting differences between California, New York, and Florida. Finally, we highlight that disparities exist not only across urban and non-urban lines but also within urban environments.

Keywords: education; environmental justice; nitrogen dioxide; particulate matter.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest relevant to this study.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Complementary cumulative distribution functions of annually averaged NO2 (a) and PM2.5 (b) at schools for students that belong to specific racial/ethnic demographics. Complementary cumulative distribution functions of annually averaged NO2 (c) and PM2.5 (d) at schools of differing poverty levels, measured by the fraction of students eligible for free or reduced meals at each school. Each plot shows the percentage of the students that attend schools where the co‐located annually averaged mean of each pollutant is above a given concentration.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Boxplots of annually averaged (a) NO2 and (b) PM2.5 surface mixing ratios split into categories of poverty level, which is defined by the fraction of students eligible for free or reduced lunch. A greater fraction of free or reduced lunch indicates a higher level of poverty. Within each poverty‐level bin, separate boxplots are shown for schools in urban and combined suburban, town, and rural locations for low people of color (POC) schools (<35% POC students) and high POC schools (>61% POC students). The thresholds for high and low POC schools are based on the 60th and 40th percentile of the percentage of POC students in all public schools across the contiguous US. The width of each boxplot is scaled for visual aid to three size categories corresponding to the number of schools in each distribution, which are listed near each distribution in corresponding colors. (c) A map of schools that belong in each race and locale category.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Difference in mean (a) NO2 and (b) PM2.5 between high people of color (POC) schools (>61% POC students based on the 60th percentile nationwide) and low POC schools (<35% POC students based on the 40th percentile nationwide). Difference in mean (c) NO2 and (d) PM2.5 between high‐poverty (greater than 75% students eligible for free or reduced lunch) and low‐poverty schools (fewer than 25% students eligible for free or reduced lunch). The colors are gray if there is no data for that state, there are fewer than 10 schools in either poverty or racial/ethnic categories, or if the difference was not found to be statistically significant using an independent t‐test (Yuen, 1974).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Boxplots of annually averaged NO2 surface mixing ratios split into categories of poverty level in New York (a), California (b), and Florida (c). A greater fraction of free or reduced lunch indicates a higher level of poverty. Within each poverty‐level bin, separate boxplots are shown for schools in urban and combined suburban, town, and rural locations for low people of color (POC) schools and high POC schools. The thresholds for high and low POC schools are based on the 60th and 40th percentile of the percentage of POC students in public schools within each state. The width of each boxplot is scaled for visual aid to three size categories corresponding to the number of schools in each distribution, which are listed near each distribution in corresponding colors.
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References From the Supporting Information

    1. Collins, T. W. , Grineski, S. E. , & Nadybal, S. (2019). Social disparities in exposure to noise at public schools in the contiguous United States. Environmental Research, 175, 257–265. 10.1016/j.envres.2019.05.024 - DOI - PubMed
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