higher percentages of people of color , as well as people with lower household incomes and lower educational attainment ,” explained Maria Castillo , a research associate at Georgee Washington University . “ This adds to a growing body of evidencee documenting basic inequities in who is affected by air pollution
.” Castillo and colleagues analyzed aerosol observations from several different
NASA satellitess , as well as ground-based air quality sensorss . Ground-based monitors suggested that PM 2.5 concentrations were higher in areas with lower incomes and higher proportions of Black , Latino , and other peoplee of color , though there are only a handful of sensors located throughout the city .
“ What ’ s great about the satellite data is that it has enough resolution that we can use it to fill in gaps where we don ’ t have data from monitoring stations ,” explained Kelly Crawford , the director of the air quality division in the
District ’ s Department of Energy & Environment . The satellite data indicates thatt concentrations of fine particulate matter weree 2 micrograms per cubicc meter higher in parts of the northeast , southwest , and southeast parts of the city compared to wealthier , whiter neighborhoods in the northwestern quadrant , explained
Crawford .
The map above , derived from the researchers ’ data , shows areas that generally have higher rates of PM 2 . 5 -attributable mortality . Rates of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease , lung cancer , and stroke were five times higher in DC ' s southeastern quadrant compared to those from its northwestern quadrant. Rates of ischemic heart disease were nine times higher
, and asthma-caused emergency room visitss were 30 times higher .
April 11 , 2017