Air Pollution in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania is one of the worst states in the condition of air pollution in the United States In 2020, Pennsylvania led the country for the highest amount of premature deaths per capita caused by air pollution. Behind California and New York, Pennsylvania ranks third in the country for the highest amount of premature deaths in the country. Exposure to air pollution can cause various health implications including asthma, decreased lung function, irregular heartbeat, heart attack, and premature death. In 2011, air pollution was responsible for 107,000 premature deaths in the United States. While this number has decreased over the last decade, it is still alarmingly high.

Certain populations are more likely to be exposed to air pollution. Adults living in urban areas are more exposed to air pollution than adults living in rural areas. Additionally, racial and ethnic minorities are found to have higher exposure to air pollution. This occurs even more in racially segregated areas. Areas with higher annual income typically see less effects and levels of air pollution than areas with lower income.

The map above shows the density of emission locations. Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and other cities experiences a higher condensed amount of locations of emission. Since there is a denser amount of locations in these areas, residents are more likely to experience symptoms from air pollution. Under further analysis it is evident that a majority of these emission locations are condensed around the Philadelphia Metropolitan Area.

The above graph allows for the direct analysis between industrial emission points and the poverty distribution in Pennsylvania. This side by side comparison allows for the visualization that more condensed points of emission occur where there are greater populations below the poverty line. In some areas of Philadelphia, the yellow color that signifies high amounts of residents below the poverty line cannot be seen, as it is covered by symbols signifying a point of emission.

The above image demonstrates the relationship between the density of air pollution in relation to the direct points of emission. The locations on the map that are yellow signify the highest density of air pollution emission. These high density areas appear to occur where there are greater numbers of residents living below the poverty line.

The residents living in these areas with greater points of air pollution emission are being disproportionately effected and may suffer significant health issues later in life. While levels of air pollution may have been decreasing over the last few years, there are still significant amounts of emissions being produced each day, with lower income families experiencing a majority of the reprocussions.