Roadmap for MHDV fleet renewal: Maximizing health and environmental justice benefits in air pollution-burdened warehouse-adjacent communities

Horton and colleagues will assess changes in air quality in an area of the west side of Chicago, Illinois, that they have confirmed is heavily affected by diesel emissions based on air pollution measurements, numerical air quality modeling, lived experience, high-density diesel activity around warehousing and intermodal facilities, high truck traffic counts, and disadvantaged and underinvested communities. They will conduct a census-tract–level health impact assessment and equity-focused analysis using associations from the literature. Scenarios to be compared are (1) current air pollution exposure and health impacts associated with older medium- and heavy-duty vehicle tailpipe emissions and (2) setting tailpipe emissions from pre-2010 medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to lower levels in line with newer vehicle fleet emissions. Analyses will incorporate community input, air quality modeling, and a health equity analysis to inform policy decisions.

Abstracts for investigators' posters to be presented at the HEI 2025 Annual Conference will appear on the HEI website in April 2025.