Exposure to small air particulates (PM2.5) among Asian and Pacific Islander Americans

Particulate matter in the air smaller than 2.5 microns (PM2.5) is a known risk factor for respiratory, cardiovascular and other diseases. The World Health Organization suggests that PM2.5 causes the average European to lose 8.6 months of life expectancy. The current study examines the potential association between race and PM2.5 exposure in the United States, focusing specifically on counties that exceed (violate) the federal standards for safe levels of exposure. We link Census data for U.S. counties to 2004 county level PM2.5 ambient concentration data from the USEPA Air Quality system (AQS). We estimate the proportion of population groups living in counties that exceed daily and annual PM2.5 national standards. The data indicate that Asian and Pacific Islander Americans (APIAs) appear to have greater exposure to PM2.5 concentrations at the county level than African Americans, American Indians, Hispanics, and Whites, even when accounting for poverty. Moreover, our analyses also suggest heterogeneity of exposure within APIAs such that Pacific Islanders appear at greater risk than Asian Americans and that Japanese Americans appear to have higher risk than other Asian Americans. Future research is needed to examine the reasons that may account for these patterns, other potential environmental exposures, and to assess whether these exposures translate to observable morbidity and mortality. Although our research is preliminary, informing communities about potential exposures that violate extant federal standards may help communities monitor potential short- and long-term environmental health risks and engage in wider conversations about environmental hazards.