Breathing While Black in West Dallas: Air Pollution & Asthma Rise

The Texas A&M University and Downwinders at Risk study reveal alarming health disparities in West Dallas, with respiratory issues impacting a largely BIPOC community.

"An environmental health disaster is occurring daily in West Dallas"
- Downwinders at Risk

The Singleton Corridor in West Dallas, characterized by busy highways and railroads, now faces another threat: air pollution. A recent study by Texas A&M University researchers and Downwinders at Risk, a North Texas clean air advocacy group, has uncovered a slew of health issues among locals, largely individuals of color (85% of respondents), stemming from the nearby GAF factory.

Respiratory Risks and Racism:

• Of the 38% respondents out of 227 households, a staggering 84% attributed their illnesses and their families' health issues to local air pollution.
• 61% avoid outdoor exercise and opening windows due to air quality concerns.
• 34% asthma diagnosis (vs. 14.4% average US Black individuals)
• 35% wheezing sans cold
• 42% respiratory disease in the last year
• 48% coughing with phlegm
• 50% coughing
• 86% reported worsening respiratory symptoms since moving
• 34% hospitalized in the last year due to respiratory issues

Pollutants and Poverty:

Research with the EPA exposes that BIPOC and low-income communities are two to four times more vulnerable to toxic air, with higher hospitalization and death rates from asthma. Yet, Singleton Corridor residents exceed even these disparities, with asthma rates double that of the US Black average. They also inhale 11 times more PM2.5 daily than the EPA's Dallas County monitor records, exceeding EPA standards 35 times during the study period (July-Dec).

Downwinders at Risk's Full Report