Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California

The report finds that Black, Latino, and low-income communities in California are exposed to significantly higher levels of PM2.5 air pollution from vehicles compared to white and high-income populations.

• Black and Latino Californians experience substantially higher average exposure to PM2.5 pollution from on-road sources compared to white Californians, with Black residents exposed to 43 percent more and Latino residents exposed to 39 percent more.
• There is a clear correlation between household income and PM2.5 exposure in California: the lowest-income households live in areas where pollution is 10 percent above the state average, while the highest-income households live where it is 13 percent below the state average.
• Households without a personal vehicle face higher exposure to vehicle pollution due to a tendency to reside in urban areas surrounded by traffic.

APA

Reichmuth, D. (2019). Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California. Union of Concerned Scientists. https://www.ucs.org/resources/inequitable-exposure-air-pollution-vehicles-california-2019

Chicago

Reichmuth, David. Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California. Union of Concerned Scientists, 2019. https://www.ucs.org/resources/inequitable-exposure-air-pollution-vehicles-california-2019.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Reichmuth |first1=David |title=Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California |publisher=Union of Concerned Scientists |date=28 January 2019 |url=https://www.ucs.org/resources/inequitable-exposure-air-pollution-vehicles-california-2019 |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{reichmuth2019inequitable, author = {Reichmuth, David}, title = {{Inequitable Exposure to Air Pollution from Vehicles in California}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2019}, month = jan, url = {https://www.ucs.org/resources/inequitable-exposure-air-pollution-vehicles-california-2019}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }