Disparities in PM <sub>2.5</sub> air pollution in the United States
Jonathan Colmer, Ian H. Hardman, Jay P. Shimshack, John Voorheis
Abstract
Cleaner skies Particulate air pollution in the contiguous United States has decreased considerably over recent decades, but where exactly has that progress been made? Colmer et al. analyzed 36 years of data and found that the spatial distribution of fine particulate matter concentrations has remained largely unchanged over that interval (see the Perspective by Ma). Although, fine particulate pollution levels have dropped overall, those areas that were most and least polluted in 1981 remain so today. We may have made important strides in pollution control, but we have been less successful in addressing disparities of exposure between communities. Science , this issue p. 575 ; see also p. 503