Environmental Health, Racial/Ethnic Health Disparity, and Climate Impacts of Inter-Regional Freight Transport in the United States

MANINDER THIND, Chris Tessum, Julian Marshall, University of Washington, Seattle

     Abstract Number: 295
     Working Group: Identifying and Addressing Disparate Health and Social Impacts of Exposure to Aerosols and Other Contaminants across Continents, Communities, and Microenvironments

Abstract
Atmospheric emissions from freight transportation contribute to human health and climate damage. In this research, we quantify and compare three environmental impacts from inter-regional freight transportation in the contiguous United States: total mortality attributable to fine particulate matter (PM_2.5), racial−ethnic disparities in PM_2.5-attributable mortality, and climate impacts (CO₂ emissions). We compare all major freight modes (truck, rail, barge, aircraft) and routes (∼30,000 routes). Our study is the first to comprehensively compare each route separately and the first to explore racial−ethnic exposure disparities by route and mode, nationally. Our analyses use high spatial resolution air quality and health impact model, the Intervention Model for Air Pollution (InMAP) to model pollutant exposure and mortality impacts.

Impacts (health, health disparity, climate) per tonne of freight are the largest for aircraft. Among non-aircraft modes, per tonne, rail has the largest health and health-disparity impacts and the lowest climate impacts, whereas truck transport has the lowest health impacts and greatest climate impacts – an important reminder that health and climate impacts are often but not always aligned. For aircraft and truck, average monetized damages per tonne are larger for climate impacts than those for PM_2.5 air pollution; for rail and barge, the reverse holds. We find that average exposures from inter-regional truck and rail are the highest for White non-Hispanic people, those from barge are the highest for Black people, and those from aircraft are the highest for people who are mixed/other race. Level of exposure and disparity among racial−ethnic groups vary in urban versus rural areas. This research can be used to inform, for a given origin and destination, which freight mode offers the lowest environmental health, health-disparity, and climate impacts.