EPA scientists find black communities disproportionately hit by pollution

A study conducted by Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) scientists found that minority and poorer communities are disproportionately impacted by air pollution relative to the overall population.

The findings by five EPA scientists, published Thursday in the American Journal of Public Health, found that when looking at areas most impacted by particulate air emissions, like soot, there were large disparities between communities differentiated by color and social strata.

African Americans faced the highest impact, with the community facing a 54 percent higher health burden compared to the overall population, the study found. Non-white communities overall had a 28 percent higher health burden and those living under the poverty line had a 35 percent higher burden.