To advance environmental justice, Arizonans need strong soot pollution standard

It’s no secret that Phoenix has some of the worst air quality in the country. With soot pollution, in particular, Maricopa County gets a failing grade. According to the American Lung Association, Phoenix and Mesa rank among the 10 worst cities in the U.S. for year-round particle pollution.

As a 26-year-old black woman who grew up in the South Phoenix community, I’ve witnessed firsthand the environmental injustices that plague this area. I’ve seen how these issues not only impact the environment but also affect the health and well-being of the people who live here, particularly people of color and those in low-income communities.

It wasn’t until later that I learned that this was a result of the nearby factories spewing out pollutants. The poor air quality affects everyone, from children playing outside to elderly residents with pre-existing breathing conditions.

Thankfully, President Biden and his administration have the authority they need to protect our communities from dangerous soot pollution. In early January, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released an updated proposal to limit soot pollution from 12 micrograms per cubic meter to 10 micrograms per cubic meter. While this is a step in the right direction, EPA’s proposal is insufficient to address a huge problem – the persistence of deadly soot pollution in our air.

Exposure to and inhalation of soot leads to increased mortality rates, hospitalizations, and visits to the ER. It is also linked to grave illnesses and health risks including asthma attacks, heart attacks, stroke, heart disease, COPD, Parkinson’s disease, dementia, low birth weight, greater risk of preterm birth and higher rates of infant mortality.

Although the harms of soot pollution are widespread, they are not evenly distributed. Soot poses a heightened danger to the most vulnerable people in any community: children, the elderly and people with chronic diseases.

Additionally, because of biased policies and other systemic injustices, communities of color suffer higher exposure to soot pollution than others. For the Black community, which faces the highest disparity in soot pollution, EPA’s proposal will barely begin to address the disparity in soot exposure. By setting the standard just 2 micrograms per cubic meter lower – from 10 to at 8 – the EPA could reduce the black mortality rate from soot pollution by about seven times.

Communities of color are also paying a high price for inaction. Our communities need solutions for pollution, and the Biden administration and the EPA are in a position to deliver. Because people of color face disproportionately higher exposure to soot than other Americans, the impact of stronger standards would be felt most positively in these vulnerable communities. With stronger, updated limits on soot pollution, the EPA can save thousands of lives each year.

As I’ve seen throughout my life, and in my community, clean air cannot be taken for granted. In order to keep his commitment to environmental justice, President Biden and his EPA must finalize the strongest possible standards to limit dangerous and deadly soot pollution. Our communities need President Biden to ‘finish the job’ on soot.

Sena Mohammed is the Chief of Staff at the Arizona Coalition For Change. She is a first-generation graduate from Arizona State University and earned a BS in Justice Studies, where she was a recipient of the College Success Arizona Scholarship.