Community health impacts of air pollution in the US

Join the Climate Equity Initiative at Clean Air Task Force (CATF) for our sixth report launch, Community Health Impacts of Air Pollution in the U.S.

According to the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, air pollution is “a major threat to global health and prosperity. Exposure to air pollution is responsible for a variety of adverse health consequences. For example, it can lead to damage to respiratory and cardiovascular systems, premature mortality, worsened mental health, impaired neural function, increased cancer risk, decreased fertility, weakened immune systems, and harm to pregnancies. Air pollution, in all forms, is responsible for more than 6.5 million deaths each year globally.”

Despite the benefits of the Clean Air Act, many Americans experience unhealthy levels of air pollution in the United States. While the Clean Air Act has significantly reduced air pollution, there are:

• Areas in the U.S. where air pollution exceeds legal limits under the Clean Air Act;
• Considerations that some of the legal standards should be more stringent; and
• Significant exposure disparities, especially related to people of color and low-income communities.

This report identifies the largest sources of air pollution in the U.S., describes the health impacts of air pollution, and is followed by a summary of air emissions from the energy and transportation sectors. In addition, the report provides an overview of the Clean Air Act, including a description of some of its key programs and the pollutants regulated under the act, and discusses the successes of the Clean Air Act in improving air quality nationwide, while recognizing that disenfranchised and underserved communities bear a disproportionate share of the continuing burden of air pollution.