Released May 26, 2023
HPIO has updated data first included in its January Health Value Dashboard policy brief, “A closer look at outdoor air pollution and health.”
The updated 2020 data (the most-recent year for which data is available) shows that racial disparities persist in exposure to air pollution, with the index of exposure for Black Ohioans being almost 1.5 times higher than white Ohioans, as displayed in the graphic above.
Much of that difference can be explained by historic zoning policies and redlining that placed industrial plants and highways closer to predominantly Black neighborhoods and prohibited Black people from moving to areas farther away from these sources of pollution.
These policies increased both past and present risk of exposure to air pollution for Black Ohioans. Similar policy decisions made by federal, state and local officials left Black neighborhoods with less maintenance services (e.g., garbage removal and street cleaning) and without green spaces like parks. Because of these discriminatory policies and their lasting impact, people of color across the U.S. and in Ohio are exposed to higher levels of harmful air pollution.