Communities with a low SES experience higher exposure rates to air pollutants and other environmental hazards, increased susceptibility to poor health, which results in health disparities that are driven by environmental factors.

Hypothesis on Environmental Inequality 

Air pollution in the context of Environmental Justice is limited to what the EPA and other governmental agencies in other nations regulate.  These pollutant measurements are set by the World Health Organization and individual governments around the world.  

The primary air pollutants that are regulated in outdoor air include: 

•Air particle/Particle Matter 2.5(PM 2.5, <2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter)

•Air Particle/Particle Matter (PM 10, <10 μm in aerodynamic diameter)

•Carbon Monoxide (CO)

•Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2)

•Ozone (O3)

•Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)

•Lead  


University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

Indiana University

In this study environmental inequality is defined as the unequal distribution of air pollution and the resulting health disparities caused across different socioeconomic groups.

Environmental Inequality

Hajat, A., Hsia, C., & O'Neill, M. S. (2015). Socioeconomic Disparities and Air Pollution Exposure: a Global Review. Current environmental health reports, 2(4), 440–450. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40572-015-0069-5


Socioeconomic Disparities and Air Pollution Exposure: A Global Review


Socioeconomic Status or SES is a complex construct that combines multiple social and economic factors to measure an individual or group's position socially and economically relative to others.  These factors typically include but are not limited to income level, educational level, and occupation.

Socioeconomic Status (SES)

Air Pollution

Local undesirable land uses or (LULU), such as roads, factories, and other industrial facilities.  Other industrial facilities include heavy industrial agricultural operations, livestock facilities, and mineral or natural resource gathering operations.

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