Ambient NO2 Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income

Matthew J. Bechle, Dylan B. Millet, and Julian D. Marshall (2023). “Ambient NO2 Air Pollution and Public Schools in the United States: Relationships with Urbanicity, Race–Ethnicity, and Income.” Environmental Science & Technology Letters 10(10), 844-850. DOI: 10.1021/acs.estlett.3c00507 [open access]

Abstract: Schools may have important impacts on children’s exposure to ambient air pollution, yet ambient air quality at schools is not consistently tracked. We characterize ambient air quality at home and school locations in the United States using satellite-based empirical model (i.e., land use regression) estimates of outdoor annual nitrogen dioxide (NO₂). We report disparities by race–ethnicity and impoverishment status, and investigate differences by level of urbanicity. Average NO₂ levels at home and school for racial–ethnic minoritized students are 18–22% higher than average (and 37–39% higher than for non-Hispanic, white students). Minoritized students are less likely than their white peers to live (0.55 times) and attend school (0.58 times) in areas below the World Health Organization’s NO₂ guideline. Predominantly minoritized schools (i.e., >50% minoritized students) are less likely than predominantly white schools (0.43 times) to be in locations below the guideline. Income and race–ethnicity impacts are intertwined, yet in large cities, racial disparities persist after controlling for income.