A new study in the journal Nature, by researchers from MIT, has found that many deaths caused by air pollution in the U.S., are from air pollution generated in a different state. It’s not just neighboring states, the research shows that air pollution can travel 1,000 miles and cause deaths far away.
The researchers studied multiple air pollutants such as ozone, fine particulates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides from multiple sectors such as transportation, aviation, power generation, and more. They used an atmospheric chemistry transport model to follow where the pollution went.
Because of the Clean Air Act, deaths from air pollution have gone down 30% from 2005-2018. The Clean Air Act has saved tens of thousands of lives in that time. But even so, 41% of deaths from air pollution in 2018 were from air pollution generated in other states.
This research could be useful when preparing comments on NEPA revisions which could exclude “effects remote in time or place.”
http://news.mit.edu/2020/half-us-deaths-air-pollution-out-state-0212
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-020-1983-8
