Do Health Disparities Narrow with Pollution Disparities? Trends from California

Abstract

Pollution concentrations (PM2.5) in the United States have fallen in recent decades. Despite these improvements, disparities in concentrations between racial/ethnic groups persist. We combine administrative data on the universe of emergency room (ER) admissions across California with satellite information on PM2.5 concentrations and compare recent trends in racial/ethnic disparities for PM2.5 and asthma rates. We find that PM2.5 concentrations fell for the average Black, Hispanic, and White individual. Similarly, disparities in PM2.5 concentrations fell between Black and White individuals and between Hispanic and White individuals. However, racial disparities in asthma rates, as measured by asthma-related ER visits per resident, have increased overall and broadly across the income distribution.