Unprotected and Underserved: Environmental justice and inadequacy of federal, state and local air pollution policies in protecting marginalized communities

Abstract:

For more than 50 years, the Clean Air Act has served as a vehicle to reduce air pollution nationwide and been remarkably successful, dropping major ambient air pollution by 73% on average, avoiding countless deaths, and saving trillions of dollars in avoided health costs. Yet, the benefits of federal air pollution protections have not been shared equally across the population. Despite overall air pollution reductions, many communities have higher burdens of air pollution, namely from nearby industrial facilities and roadways, and these communities are disproportionately Black, Latinx, and low-income communities. This disparity in air pollution exposure can be attributed to several factors including structural and institutional racism, private sector behaviors, and government policy decisions. Federal air pollution laws are inadequate to address environmental justice concerns. For example, communities facing cumulative impacts from multiple local air pollution sources can experience air pollution levels that exceed recommended levels to protect public health, even while all nearby pollution sources are compliant with applicable laws and policies. This provides communities with little recourse for improving their local air quality. The Clean Air Act is an insufficient vehicle for protecting the communities who need it most. This talk will explore the disproportionate impacts of air pollution exposure in environmental justice communities, the inadequacy of air pollution policies, and what can be done about it.