Study links adoption of electric vehicles with less air pollution and
improved health

Date:
February 2, 2023
Source:
Keck School of Medicine of USC
Summary:
A team of researchers have now begun to document the actual impact
of electric vehicle adoption in the first study to use real-world
data to link electric cars, air pollution and health. Leveraging
publicly available datasets, the researchers analyzed a 'natural
experiment' occurring in California as residents in the state
rapidly transitioned to electric cars, or light-duty zero emissions
vehicles (ZEVs). The team compared data on total ZEV registration,
air pollution levels and asthma- related emergency room visits
across the state between 2013 to 2019. As ZEV adoption increased
within a given zip code, local air pollution levels and emergency
room visits dropped.


Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIN Email
FULL STORY ========================================================================== Electric vehicles are widely hailed as a key way to mitigate climate
change through reduced emissions, but research on the dual benefits of
reduced air pollution and improved health has been largely hypothetical.


==========================================================================
A team of researchers from the Keck School of Medicine of USC have now
begun to document the actual impact of electric vehicle adoption in the
first study to use real-world data to link electric cars, air pollution
and health. Leveraging publicly available datasets, the researchers
analyzed a "natural experiment" occurring in California as residents
in the state rapidly transitioned to electric cars, or light-duty zero emissions vehicles (ZEVs). The results were just published in the journal Science of the Total Environment.

The team compared data on total ZEV registration, air pollution levels
and asthma-related emergency room visits across the state between 2013
to 2019. As ZEV adoption increased within a given zip code, local air
pollution levels and emergency room visits dropped.

"When we think about the actions related to climate change, often it's
on a global level," said Erika Garcia, PhD, MPH, an assistant professor
of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine
and the study's lead author. "But the idea that changes being made at
the local level can improve the health of your own community could be a powerful message to the public and to policy makers." The researchers
also found that while total ZEVs increased over time, adoption was
considerably slower in low-resource zip codes -- what the researchers
refer to as the "adoption gap." That disparity points to an opportunity to restore environmental justice in communities that are disproportionately affected by pollution and related health problems.

"The impacts of climate change on health can be challenging to talk about because they can feel very scary," said Sandrah Eckel, PhD, an associate professor of population and public health sciences at the Keck School of Medicine and the study's senior author. "We're excited about shifting
the conversation towards climate change mitigation and adaptation,
and these results suggest that transitioning to ZEVs is a key piece
of that." Benefits for health and the climate To study the effects of
electric vehicle adoption, the research team analyzed and compared four different datasets. First, they obtained data on ZEVs (which includes
battery electric, plug-in hybrid, and hydrogen fuel cell cars) from the California Department of Motor Vehicles and tabulated the total number registered in each zip code for every year between 2013 and 2019.

They also obtained data from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency air monitoring sites on levels of nitrogen dioxide (NO2), an air pollutant
related to traffic, and zip code level asthma-related visits to the
emergency room.

Asthma is one of the health concerns long linked with air pollutants such
as NO2, which can also cause and exacerbate other respiratory diseases,
as well as problems with the heart, brain and other organ systems.

Finally, the researchers calculated the percentage of adults in each
zip code who held bachelor's degrees. Educational attainment levels are frequently used as an indicator of a neighborhood's socioeconomic status.

At the zip code level, for every additional 20 ZEVs per 1,000 people,
there was a 3.2% drop in the rate of asthma-related emergency visits and
a small suggestive reduction in NO2 levels. On average across zip codes
in the state, ZEVs increased from 1.4 to 14.6 per 1,000 people between
2013 and 2019. ZEV adoption was significantly lower in zip codes with
lower levels of educational attainment. For example, a zip code with 17%
of the population having a bachelor's degree had, on average, an annual increase of 0.70 ZEVs per 1,000 people compared to an annual increase
of 3.6 ZEVs per 1,000 people for a zip code with 47% of the population
having a bachelor's degree.

Past research has shown that underserved communities, such as lower-income neighborhoods, tend to face worse pollution and associated respiratory
problems than more affluent areas. If ZEVs replace gas-powered cars in
those neighborhoods, they could stand to benefit substantially.

"Should continuing research support our findings, we want to make sure
that those communities that are overburdened with the traffic-related
air pollution are truly benefiting from this climate mitigation effort,"
Garcia said.

More to learn While climate change is a massive health threat, mitigating
it offers a massive public health opportunity, Eckel said. As one of
the first studies to quantify the real-world environmental and health
benefits of ZEVs, the research can help demonstrate the power of this mitigation measure, including possibly reduced health care utilization
and expenditures.

The findings are promising, Garcia said, but many questions remain. Future studies should consider additional impacts of ZEVs, including emissions
related to brake and tire wear, mining of materials for their manufacture,
and disposal of old cars. The researchers also hope to study additional
types of pollutants and other classes of vehicles, in addition to
conducting a follow-up study of the effects of the ever-growing share
of ZEVs in the state.

Moving forward, transitioning to ZEVs is just one part of the solution,
Eckel said. Shifting to public transport and active transport, including walking and biking, are other key ways to boost environmental and
public health.

This work was supported by the University of Southern California Office
of Research Strategic Directions for Research Award and the National
Institute of Environmental Health Sciences [P30ES007048, P2CES033433].

* RELATED_TOPICS
o Health_&_Medicine
# Workplace_Health # Health_Policy #
Public_Health_Education
o Matter_&_Energy
# Automotive_and_Transportation # Consumer_Electronics
# Electricity
o Earth_&_Climate
# Environmental_Issues # Air_Quality #
Environmental_Awareness
o Science_&_Society
# Environmental_Policies # Public_Health # STEM_Education
* RELATED_TERMS
o Air_pollution o Battery_electric_vehicle o
Alternative_fuel_vehicle o Environmental_impact_assessment
o Indoor_air_quality o Smog o Pollution o
Automobile_emissions_control

========================================================================== Story Source: Materials provided by Keck_School_of_Medicine_of_USC. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.


========================================================================== Journal Reference:
1. Erika Garcia, Jill Johnston, Rob McConnell, Lawrence Palinkas,
Sandrah P.

Eckel. California's early transition to electric vehicles:
Observed health and air quality co-benefits. Science of The Total
Environment, 2023; 161761 DOI: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2023.161761 ==========================================================================

Link to news story: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/02/230202153549.htm

--- up 48 weeks, 3 days, 10 hours, 50 minutes
* Origin: -=> Castle Rock BBS <=- Now Husky HPT Powered! (1:317/3)