Effects of Poor Air Quality on Rates of Asthma among Communities of Colors in the United States
Summer 2020
Table of Contents
Summary………………………………………….3
Introduction……………………………………….4
Environmental Factors and Findings……………..6
Access to Healthcare……………………………..8
Action Plan……………………………………….8
Conclusion………………………………………..9
Summary
Asthma is not evenly distributed in the United States. Individuals who grow up in crowded urban neighborhoods experience higher rates of asthma and more morbidity due to this chronic illness. Moreover, communities of color are primarily impacted by this because they tend to reside in these areas more than their white counterparts. The unequal effect of environmental-related diseases on low-income people and people of color is the product of racial and social injustices that are deeply ingrained (Lohh & Sugerman-Brozan, 2002). This paper aims to examine the effects of poor air quality and the rates of asthma among communities of color. Across the country, communities and individuals are experiencing higher temperatures, more extreme storms with intense flooding, and changes in our ecosystems. The paper will aim to address and answer the research question: Are communities of color more likely to be hospitalized by asthma due to pollution than whites? Furthermore, the legitimacy of air pollution and the correlation to people of color in the U.S., how environmental the lack of access to healthcare will all be taken into account.
During this research, I anticipated finding that communities of color have higher rates of asthma hospitalization than whites. The study has shown that communities of color are, in fact, disproportionately impacted by asthma due to pollution. The results showed inverse correlations between the disproportionate rate of asthma among communities of color and poor air quality. The outcome measures varied among the studies, depending on the state. Policies makers must pay attention to air quality in areas with significant factories, buildings, and industries. They should enforce the polluter-pays principles and other policies in place to ensure a fair and healthy environment.
Introduction
Environmental racism is not a new concept. The race is a significant predictor of a person living close to polluted air, water, or soil (Covert, 2016). Greenaction for Health and Environmental Justice defines environmental racism as, “the institutional rules, regulations, policies or government and/or corporate decisions that deliberately target certain communities for locally undesirable land uses and lax enforcement of zoning and environmental laws, resulting in communities being disproportionately exposed to toxic and hazardous waste based upon race.” (Greenaction, 2017). Bullard states that Environmental Justice is, “any policy, practice, or directive that deferentially affects or disadvantages (intended or unintended) individuals, communities based on race or color” (Bullard, pg. 11).
Air pollution is a known trigger of asthma—a chronic lung disease that affects the bronchial tubes. This health outcome is characterized by intense constriction and increased mucous production (Asthma; Mayo Clinic, n.d). This condition is identified as one of the leading causes of hospitalization in the United States (Asthma, n.d). According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), individuals with asthma account for 8.3 percent of the total United States population (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2018). Asthma can be linked to many causes such as poor air quality, family history, allergies, smoking, job or school exposure, exposure to allergens, and so on (Asthma; Mayo Clinic). People in lower-income communities and communities of color are disproportionately affected by air pollution (Asthma in Minnesota 2014 to 2020). This health outcome is primarily associated with urbanization (Asthma; Mayo Clinic). A cross-sectional study conducted by Anderson et al. (2013) has found a correlation between current levels of air pollution and the prevalence of asthma, which implies that infection can increase the risk of developing asthma. People of color frequently live in communities with elevated air pollution rates, and some of these groups have the highest asthma prevalence in the United States (Mott, 1995; Akinbami et al., 2012).
Poor air quality and declining respiratory health have been reported in a multitude of research. Daily information on air quality can be found via the US EPA’s Air Quality Index to track outdoor activities. The Air Quality Index was developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and is used to report daily air quality. It indicates the cleanness or pollution in a particular location’s air and its associated health effects. It primarily focuses on health effects that you can experience within a few hours or days of breathing polluted air (Air Quality Index, 2016). As noted, pollution can increase asthma rates. Communities of color have higher exposure rates to air pollution than their white, non-Hispanic counterparts; therefore, there is a clear indication of environmental injustice. In 1987, the United Church of Christ Commission on Racial Justice found that although socioeconomic factors played a considerable part in the location of toxic waste sites, the most significant factor was race (United Church of Christ Commission on Racial Justice, 1987). Such activities tend to be widespread today, and are apparent in low-income, color communities safety Landfills, hazardous waste facilities, and other industrial installations are most commonly found in communities of color.
Class readings have an immense influence on this paper. Nancy Heitzeg notes in the Catherine Core Reader that it is imperative to “engage in informed action” (2014, pg. 567). Challenging oppression is a long process. In the context of environmental justice, this notion fits perfectly. Racism institutionalized is the primary contributor to environmental inequality. Institutionalized racism refers to the concrete reality of purposely and actively targeting neighborhoods and communities of a majority of people of low socioeconomic status and a broader city of people of color, which is perceived to be the usual outcome of racism. Shiva notes the exclusion of disadvantaged communities in her book Stolen Harvest The Hijacking of the Global Food Supply (2016), “…white, male elites of the north created class, race, and gender boundaries to exclude other social groups from the fundamental rights to life and safety.” This is the very reason why environmental justice is incredibly imperative; race and class play a crucial role in environmental decision-making. These communities’ wellbeing is diminished by exposure to diesel emissions, noise, odor, and other pollutants.
Environmental Factors and Findings
Studies investigating racial inequalities in exposures to vehicle exhaust and ambient air pollution have elaborated on the notion of environmental injustice. There are quite a few ecological that influence the severity of asthma, such as indoor allergens and air pollution.
It is essential to note that indoor environments can be as pollutive as outdoor environments. A study by James E. Gern, MD (2010) found that indoor allergen rates are much higher in low-income urban households and those multiple housing families in comparison to rural and suburban homes. Indoor triggers include mold, dust mites, rodents, livestock, lead in dust, and second-hand smoke, while air pollution causes the outdoor triggers. The results of this study provided evidence that “high rates of exposure to stress, tobacco smoke, cockroaches, and poor housing conditions and low socioeconomic status represent many of the potential risk factors for allergies and asthma in the U.S..” Moreover, it has shown that ethnicity was linked to allergies (atopy) in children with and without asthma. In another study, African-American and Puerto Rican children (with and without asthma) are more likely than white children to become allergic to cockroach and dust mite (Stevenson et al., 2001). Differences in parental smoking could contribute to some of the ethnic disparities observed in childhood asthma. Nevertheless, very few studies have attempted to determine the impact of smoking on asthma ethnic disparities. For instance, in a survey of more than nine thousand people, Beckett et al. (1996) found that passive exposure to smoke at home did not affect an association between individuals of Hispanic ethnicity (mainly Puerto Rican) and increased risk of asthma.
According to the EPA, “high levels of air pollution (ozone, nitrogen oxides, acidic aerosols, and fine particles) in the air are also associated with making asthma symptoms worse” (EPA, n.d.). Such pollutants arise from the smoke, dust, and emissions of cars, factories, and power plants. Exposed to elevated ozone levels can trigger asthma attacks or cause asthma to develop in children. People of color are more likely to live in places where air pollutants are high, including particulate matter, carbon monoxide, ozone, and sulfur dioxide (O’Connor et al., 2008). Children who exercise or play sports outdoors are at higher risks when ozone levels are high. Ozone concentrations are typically highest in summer. Particulate emission can be intense at any time of year and is nearly busier. A study by the University of Minnesota suggests that average nitrogen dioxide concentration is more significant than inequality in ordinary income. Non-whites experience 38 percent higher residential outdoor nitrogen dioxide concentrations than whites. On average, non-whites are exposed to higher outdoor residential nitrogen dioxide concentrations within individual urban areas than whites. Lower-income populations were exposed to higher outdoor residential average nitrogen dioxide concentrations than higher-income people (Clark, Millet & Marshall, 2014).
Access to Healthcare
Several factors decide access to healthcare, which in effect influence the morbidity of asthma. For starters, Flores et al. (2008) found significant gaps between ethnic groups in terms of full-time employment rates, household income, and insurance coverage and type. This study consisted of over 100,000 participants (children), and asthma prevalence was significantly higher among ethnic groups with relatively low rates of work, income, and insurance coverage. Lack of adequate health insurance impacts asthma management by creating barriers to effective diagnosis and care (Shanawani, 2006). It is difficult for these to receive healthcare because of socioeconomic disparities, literacy or language problems, and lack of physicians in those areas. As a result, African American and Latinx children with asthma do not regularly use conventional drugs such as corticosteroids and instead focus on emergency care. (“Ethnic Disparities in the Burden and Treatment of Asthma,” 2005)
Actions Taken
Effective policies are essential for improving the health of communities of color. Sadly, since the Trump administration rose into power, there has not been much work on mitigating air pollution and environmental justice crisis. Things have only been worse. According to an article by the Hill, Trump has proposed that “calls for significant reductions to environmental programs at federal agencies, including a 26 percent cut to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)” just this year (Beitsch & Frazin, 2020). As a result, this puts the overall health of individuals of low-income communities and communities of color that are already being affected by environmental pollution. Cuts in programs such as Children’s Health Resources, Air Quality Management Support, Superfund, Resources Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Title VI Compliance are vital in ensuring a healthy environment for everyone.
Representative Donald McEachin, a Democrat from Virginia, described his proposed Environmental Justice for All Act as a series of solutions – from amending the Civil Rights Act to allowing citizens facing excessive pollution to sue, to requiring federal workers to undergo training in environmental justice – suggested by those impacted by ecological injustices (Worland, 2020).
Asthma is a disease that can, by an enormous scope, can be attributed to the causes of air pollution from time to time. The issue of contamination has been a great concern not only in the United States of America but also in other areas. It has been a significant challenge to the government to control pollution, which may reduce respiratory diseases, which may occur as a result of the infection, including asthma. Therefore, as a strategy to reduce the rate of pollution, the American government has to put strict measures to the industries across the world, resulting in a reduction in the prices of infections of such respiratory diseases from time to time.
Also, in addition to the imposition of the strict regulations on pollution, the American government can serve to ensure that there are free medical services to the individual suffering from such respiratory disease, among other standard conditions to the citizens. Through that, there would be a more significant improvement in the health of the citizens and more so to the aging population and the poor in the society, who cannot afford quality healthcare services. Through the incorporation of all those actions, there would be a more significant improvement in terms of the healthcare of the American citizens (Worland, 2020).
Conclusion
Communities of color are most often exposed to multiple pollutants from multiple sources; yet, there is a small collection of data and scientific research to determine the health risks created by these various exposures. As mentioned, communities of color are disproportionately affected by asthma due to poor air quality. There need to be effective environmental policies to ensure an environment where individuals are not disproportionately impacted. I hope that we are one day able to live in a world that is sustainable and that we start to have policies focused on addressing environmental injustice. Additionally, I hope that we may have a better understanding of the damage and waste in the future; we each contribute to causing ecological instability.
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