Twin Cities air pollution contributes to health disparities

ST. PAUL, Minn. (FOX 9) - Minnesota has successfully lowered some dangerous components of air pollution, but a new modeling study shows contaminated air still contributes to an alarming number of premature deaths.

The Minnesota Department of Health and the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency have teamed up to release a new study on the health effects of air pollution in both the seven county Twin Cities metro and in greater Minnesota. The report called Life and Breath is a companion report to a similar study in 2008 that allowed researchers to measure outcomes over time.

"Air quality in Minnesota is good and it's improving," David Baer of the MPCA told FOX 9.   

The study finds that particulate matter, which is the very fine particles in the air from exhaust, actually improved by 30 percent between 2008 and 2015. Ozone, the ground level gas caused by volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, improved by 10 percent during the same period.  

"Even with the pretty good air quality that we have in Minnesota, there are still meaningful significant health impacts including premature deaths," said Baer.

The modeling study shows air pollution in the Twin Cities metro contributed to 10 percent of all premature deaths. 

"It falls in line after cancer and heart disease," said Kathy Raleigh of the Minnesota Department of Health. Based upon their modeling, air pollution would rank as the third leading cause of death.

"It's not indicated on death records, so it's really hard to disentangle," explained Raleigh. "But with the modeling that we're doing with population based estimates, this is what we can say."

Perhaps the biggest discoveries of the research revealed disproportionate impacts of air pollution across the Twin Cities. The report found trends of the highest estimated rates of air pollution-related death and disease are found in neighborhoods with the largest percentage of Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC), low income and uninsured residents, and people who live with a disability. Broken down by zip codes, it found the largest percentage of BIPOC residents have five times the rate of asthma emergency room visits related to air pollution when compared to areas with more white residents.

"The take home, I think, is that the underlying conditions and these inequities in health, which are based on structural inequities, historical inequities and racism, daily acts of discrimination, and how the city is structured," explained Raleigh. "I think these all play into the overarching, you know, the results that we saw."

David Bael at the MPCA said the health effect disparities found in the report are reflective of the deep systemic problems in these communities. 

"It's not something that can be fixed easily. But I think beginning to illuminate it – like hopefully we're trying to do – is a meaningful step," said Bael.

The hope is that this new knowledge translates into action. 

"I hope that this can be valuable information from the very grassroots local level all the way up to the highest kind of policymakers of the state," said Bael.

Read the full Life and Breath report HERE.