Space-Based Observational Constraints on NO2 Air Pollution Inequality From Diesel Traffic in Major US Cities

Air pollution disproportionately burdens communities of color and lower-income communities in US cities. We have generally lacked city-wide concentration measurements that resolve the steep spatiotemporal gradients of primary pollutants required to describe intra-urban air pollution inequality. Here, we use observations from the recently launched TROPospheric Ozone Monitoring Instrument (TROPOMI) satellite sensor and physics-based oversampling to describe nitrogen dioxide (NO2) disparities with race, ethnicity, and income in 52 US cities (June 2018-February 2020). We report average US-urban census tract-level NO2 inequalities of 28 +/- 2% (race-ethnicity and income combined), with many populous cities experiencing even greater inequalities. Using observations and inventories, we find diesel traffic is the dominant source of NO2 disparities, and that a 62% reduction in diesel emissions would decrease race-ethnicity and income inequalities by 37%. We add evidence that TROPOMI resolves tract-scale NO2 differences using relationships with urban segregation patterns and spatial variability in column-to-surface correlations.

Automated summary

The study reveals significant air pollution inequalities in US cities, particularly affecting communities of color and lower-income communities. Diesel traffic is identified as the main source of NO2 disparities, and reducing diesel emissions can significantly decrease inequalities based on race, ethnicity, and income.