Presentation description

People of color and people of lower income are disproportionately impacted by environmental hazards. Specifically, people of color and people of lower income face higher levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5). These disparities have been found throughout the U.S. and within Salt Lake County (SL Co). During Winter 2024, we phone surveyed 542 residents of SL Co about their perceptions of air pollution. We asked them if air pollution affects people of color or people of lower income worse. We found that respondents generally disagreed with those statements, and of the two, the statement regarding people of color had the lowest level of agreement. Those not living on the West side of SL Co and women disagreed a little less than other demographic groups. This implies a disconnect between public perception of environmental injustice and scientific research on the topic.