Inland seas around the world are drying up due to human water use and climate change, releasing harmful dust during acute dust storms. A case study of the Great Salt Lake in Utah showed that dust exposure was highest among Pacific Islanders and Hispanic individuals, and lower in white people and those without a high school diploma. Restoring the lake would benefit everyone by reducing dust exposure and decreasing disparities in exposure between racial/ethnic and socioeconomic groups. This research highlights the environmental justice and equity implications of drying lakes.
The desiccation of the Great Salt Lake since the mid-1980s has exposed its dry lakebed to weathering and wind, leading to dust emissions that produce fine particulate matter (PM2.5), a leading environmental cause of human mortality worldwide. Researchers conducted a model to investigate how dust pollution would change under different lake-level scenarios, simulating dust creation and distribution in three surrounding counties. The team then combined these outputs with demographic data to examine associations between dust exposure severity, racial/ethnic groups, and socioeconomic status.
During a typical dust storm, people in the Great Salt Valley are exposed to high levels of dust PM2.5, exceeding the World Health Organization’s threshold. If the lake were to dry up completely, exposure during dust storms would increase, but restoring the lake to a healthy level would decrease exposure levels. Certain groups within the population were found to be exposed to disproportionate levels of dust, with Pacific Islanders, Hispanic individuals, and those without a high school diploma facing higher exposure risks.
Raising the lake’s level would help alleviate environmental injustice within the region, as disparities in exposure between racial/ethnic and educational groups would decrease. However, other social disparities in pollution exposure still exist in the region, and the team aims to investigate how potential population changes might influence dust exposure in the future. The researchers hope their results will guide local policy makers in prioritizing re-filling the Great Salt Lake to decrease dust exposure and address environmental justice implications.
By enacting policy and conservation measures to raise the lake, the region could benefit from decreased dust exposure and reduced disparities in who is breathing in more dust. Consideration of environmental justice implications is crucial when making policy decisions related to mitigation and adaptation to climate change. This research sheds light on the importance of addressing disparities in dust exposure and the potential benefits of restoring inland seas like the Great Salt Lake for both the environment and public health.