Economic and Racial Disparities in Air Quality Monitors in Baltimore City, Maryland, and Other Major Metropolitan Cities in the United States

Abstract

The EPA has air quality monitoring networks that report ambient air fine particulate matter (PM2.5) within cities in the United States (EPA 2023a). The citizen science project PurpleAir has community scientists place PurpleAir PM2.5 monitors in areas of their choosing (Dybwad 2022). Yet, areas that have air quality monitors are still suffering from PM2.5 pollution. These areas contain predominantly low-income and Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC) (Tessum et al. 2021; Tabuchi and Popovich 2021). To fully understand how air quality monitors work, I must understand the geography/distribution of monitors and the relationship between people and monitors. I use quantitative methods through exploratory and statistical analysis to collect location data on EPA and PurpleAir monitors, tract-level population data, race/ethnicity data, and median household income data. The findings reveal evidence of uneven geographies of EPA and PurpleAir air quality monitors. There is no relationship between EPA air quality monitors and low-income and BIPOC communities. Further, there is a relationship between PurpleAir air quality monitors and low-income and BIPOC communities.