- The University of Utah did a study to look at the efficiency of air pollution monitoring especially in populations of color.
- The study involved EPA data representing nearly 3.3 million people in all 50 states and the District of Columbia.
- Findings point to areas that are left off the monitoring charts, including rural communities and Native American lands.
A recent University of Utah study found that the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is not adequately measuring air pollution impacting non-white populations.
The study found that EPA air quality monitors are disproportionately located in predominantly white neighborhoods, according to university researchers.
It went on to conclude that the federal agency’s network consistently failed to capture air quality in communities of color across six major pollutants, particularly lead and sulfur dioxide, followed by ozone and carbon monoxide. As a result, air pollution data may misrepresent pollution concentrations, leaving marginalized groups at risk, it emphasized.
“It’s the question behind the question. Researchers, policymakers, we all use air quality data, but whose air is it measuring?” said Brenna Kelly, doctoral student at the University of Utah and lead author of the study. “Even though this data is of really high quality, that doesn’t mean that it’s high quality for everyone.”
“If there was a disparity for just one type of monitor, it could conceivably be accidental or just poor design,” added co-author Simon Brewer, associate professor of geography. “The fact that it’s a consistent pattern across all pollutants suggests that the decision-making process needs to be looked at carefully — these monitors are not being distributed equitably.”
The national study included nearly 3.3 million people and found that monitoring disparities exist for all criteria pollutants, particularly sulfur dioxide and lead, followed by ozone and carbon monoxide. Disparities were consistent across most racial and ethnic groups but were generally largest for those of Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander race and American Indian or Alaska Native race.
Sampling bias could potentially lead to incorrect conclusions about the safety of air quality, the study said. Monitors measure a single point in space, meant to be a representative sample of a larger body of air.
Monitors that were active between March 2019 and March 2024 were included in the analysis, as well as census block groups for all U.S. states and the District of Columbia.
Researchers added that despite the robust body of literature describing inequities in air pollution exposure, inequity in air quality monitoring has not been a major research focus.
Monitoring Utah air
In Utah, the state Division of Air Quality does not monitor concentrations of pollutants on tribal lands because those data collection activities fall under the authority of the EPA, said Bryce Bird, division director.
Utah’s Air Quality Monitoring Network currently operates monitors at 25 locations statewide. Two of the monitoring sites have been established to fulfill legislation requirements which directed the Department of Environmental Quality to establish and maintain monitoring facilities to measure the environmental impact from the Inland Port development project. Those locations are the Lake Park site and at the new prison north of I-80 off 7200 West.
“So, under the EPA requirements we are obligated to place the monitors based on the populations that are expected to see the highest levels of air pollution. And so we do air quality modeling to determine where those would be, and then we select sites that are representative, again, of the highest expected level of concentration that represents that population. Our current monitoring network is placed based on that,” Bird said.
Monitoring locations are designed to capture pollution exposure levels for a population of 50,000 people, he added.
“They aren’t located targeting specific ethnicity, but they’re targeting those areas where, because of the industry or the proximity to roadways, they would be expected to have the highest levels of air pollution.”
The state’s network includes monitoring at Hawthorne Elementary in Salt Lake City, at DEQ’s agency headquarters on North Temple near I-215, Rose Park and West Valley City. It also captures data in Woods Cross in Bountiful and monitors air pollution in the area of Copper View Elementary in Midvale.
“The areas that we are required to monitor are based on those federal requirements, and we do place them in the areas where we try to capture, again, where people are being impacted by air pollution,” Bird said.
The state’s network also includes sites in Vernal, Roosevelt, Price, Erda in Tooele County and Smithfield in Cache County.
Utah’s pollution regulators have been participating in the EPA-funded Urban Air Toxics Monitoring Program since 1999.
A report by the division said the sampling sites are strategically located. Some sites are selected to measure particulate matter concentrations in highly populated areas while others are selected to determine the extent of ozone transport from the Wasatch Front to the Uinta Basin.
Why it matters
Air pollution impacts the lungs and is linked to increased risk of heart attack or stroke, mental acuity in older populations, the very young and means more trips to the emergency room.
Utah has been battling air pollution on a number of fronts, including efforts to bring down fine particulate matter, or PM2.5, ozone, methane emissions and regional haze. Air pollution information for specific locations can be found at the division’s website.
Kelly, the lead author of the study, said the study did not look at any specific locality but rather it probed national trends.
“Utah is not unlike other places that are rural,” Kelly said. “We just simply don’t understand air quality as well because these monitors aren’t located near these people. And I mean, even in urban areas, the further you are from a monitor, the less certain you can be about your air quality.”