Social Determinants of Health in Detroit
Air pollution is the presence of harmful substances in the atmosphere that can make people sick.
While air pollution has generally improved since the adoption of the federal Clean Air Act in 1970, pollution from cars and trucks and the cumulative impacts of many stationary sources like factories and utilities still exact a substantial human health cost in metro Detroit, particularly in low-income communities of color.
And the new phenomenon of smoke pollution from climate change-driven wildfires threatens to undo much of the progress that has been accomplished toward clean air in recent decades.
Metro Detroit was the 12th most polluted in the country for year-round particle pollution, according to the American Lung Association. The association gave Wayne County a failing grade for the number of days with high ground-level ozone and 24-hour particle pollution — even though the region is currently considered to meet standards for those pollutants under the Clean Air Act.
PM 2.5, fine particulate pollution with a diameter of 2.5 micrometers or smaller, can be inhaled deeply into the lungs, leading to respiratory and cardiovascular problems in humans.
The primary sources of PM 2.5 include motor vehicle emissions, industrial processes, power plants, residential burning of wood and coal, and natural sources like wildfires and dust storms.
Wayne County was in non-attainment for PM2.5 under the federal Clean Air Act from 2006 until 2013. Advocates argue that the region’s particulate pollution is still too high.
Source: Michigan EJ Screen
Ground-level ozone is an air pollutant formed when particulate pollution, nitrogen oxides (NOx) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs), react in sunlight.
Unlike the beneficial ozone in the Earth’s upper atmosphere that shields the Earth from the sun’s ultraviolet radiation, ground-level ozone can harm human health.
Prolonged exposure to elevated levels of ozone can lead to respiratory illness, reduced lung function, exacerbated asthma and other chronic lung diseases. Vulnerable populations such as children, the elderly, and people with pre-existing respiratory conditions are particularly at risk.
The metro Detroit area was in non-attainment for ground-level ozone under the Clean Air Act from 2015 until 2023. Advocates disagree with the decision to remove the designation, arguing that the state manipulated data to make it look like ozone levels were lower than they actually are by excluding certain data — a loophole that regulators across the country employ.
Most air pollution comes from stationary sources such as factory emissions, and mobile sources such as exhaust from trucks and cars. Detroit has a heavy load of both types of air pollution.
Wayne County has about 50 sites with renewable operating permits to emit air pollution; you can view them here and on the map below. You can also see which have had permit violations within the last five years at Planet Detroit’s Air Permit Violation Tracker.
Traffic-related air pollution (TRAP) is a combination of gases and particulates originating from various motor vehicles such as trucks, vans, buses, cars, and motorcycles.
A Health Effects Institute meta-analysis of research published in 2022 found “moderate to high evidence” of a causal relationship between TRAP and adult and childhood asthma onset, mortality due to circulatory disease, acute respiratory infections in children, ischemic heart disease, lung cancer and all-cause mortality.
One study found that children between the ages of 5 and 7 living within 75 meters of major roads or highways had a 50% higher chance of exhibiting asthma symptoms than their counterparts living farther away. For every 10% rise in community traffic density, there was a corresponding 15% increase in asthma-related hospital admissions.
A Planet Detroit analysis of census data and roads estimates that nearly half of Detroit’s population lives within 100 meters of a freeway or high-traffic road.
That includes an estimated 42,000 children under the age of nine.
Exposure to pollutants like particulate matter and ozone can cause significant health issues. In the Detroit area, exposure results in 721 premature deaths, 1,500 hospitalizations, over 200,000 respiratory symptom days in asthmatic children, 500,000 missed workdays, and 990,000 missed school days.
Here are some of the health impacts of exposure to air pollution:
ADHD: In urban settings, prenatal exposure to air pollution may contribute to ADHD-related behavior in children.
Asthma: Increases in prevalence and severity are connected to urbanization and outdoor air pollution. Those living near busy roads or in high-ozone communities are at greater risk.
Breast cancer: Living near major roads may increase the risk for women. Aerosol products with methylene chloride are linked to breast cancer.
Brain development: Breathing in PM 2.5 can potentially alter a child’s brain size, affecting cognitive and emotional health during adolescence.
Cardiovascular disease: Air pollution exposure can lower “good” cholesterol, upping disease risks. Fine particulate matter can deteriorate blood vessels and accelerate artery calcification.
Dementia: Improved air quality reduces dementia risk, especially in older women.
COPD/Emphysema: Air pollution is implicated in developing this lung condition.
Lung cancer: Using coal for energy has been associated with a rise in cases.
Osteoporosis: High levels of pollutants correlate with bone damage, especially in postmenopausal women.
Source: The National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences: Air Pollution and Your Health
In 2016, the Community Action to Promote Healthy Environments (CAPHE), released a comprehensive manual on public health action planning for clean air in the Detroit area, including a range of mitigation strategies. CAPHE is a partnership between University of Michigan public health researchers, community organizations, residents, and health service providers.
The manual calls for a three-fold approach:
Reducing emissions: This includes controls on mobile and point sources and adopting clean energy.
Reducing exposure: This includes installing home air filtration systems for vulnerable populations and installing buffers between point sources and places where people live, work and attend school.
Cross-cutting solutions include enhanced enforcement of existing air quality rules and enhanced air monitoring.
In 2023, a coalition of environmental justice advocates released a plan for addressing air pollution in Detroit and Wayne County. Their report outlines policy priorities and actions to address the issues, including addressing racial disparities in air quality permitting, including:
Consideration of cumulative impacts by regulators when making decisions on new source permits and expansions, considering the existing pollution load in overburdened communities.
Health impact assessments to identify human health impacts in decision-making on plans and policies.
Strengthened air quality enforcement of existing air quality regulations.
Community benefits: Resources and amenities provided by polluters to impacted communities.
Stronger regulation of traffic-related air pollution, especially truck idling and routing through residential areas.
Electrification offers another potential solution. A 2023 study published by the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California found that air pollution levels and asthma-related emergency department visits dropped as electric vehicle adoption increased in a zip code between 2013 and 2018. However, the impact of electrification depends on the cleanliness of the energy source used to generate electricity
Nina Wimberley doesn’t remember a time when she didn’t struggle with asthma.