Ecommerce is a boom for retailers and warehouse operators, however it’s a bust for air pollution and air quality.
A brand new study from researchers at George Washington University in Washington, D.C., finds that folks living in communities situated next to large warehouses are exposed to twenty% more of a traffic-related air pollutant that may result in asthma and other life-threatening health conditions.
“Increased truck traffic to and from these recently built large warehouses means people living downwind are inhaling an increased amount of harmful nitrogen dioxide pollution,” says Gaige Kerr, an assistant research professor of environmental and occupational health on the George Washington University Milken Institute School of Public Health. “Communities of color are disproportionately affected because they often live in close proximity to warehouses, especially dense clusters of warehouses.”
Ecommerce warehouses worsen air quality
Researchers measured nitrogen dioxide levels by utilizing a satellite instrument from the European Space Agency to zero in from space on the nearly 150,000 large warehouses situated across the U.S.
Trucks and other vehicles traveling to and from these large warehouses spew out nitrogen dioxide, particulates, and other harmful pollutants, the study says.
The researchers also checked out traffic information from the Federal Highway Administration and demographic data from the U.S. Census Bureau.
A significant reason for added pollution has been the boom in warehouse construction. That boom was spurred by record levels of ecommerce buying from consumers and businesses. For instance, the COVID-19 pandemic fueled the explosion of the ecommerce industry and warehouses that receive and type consumer goods. Consequently, the transportation infrastructure needed to ship goods to warehouses after which on to consumers is gigantic, based on the researchers. Amazon, specifically, an industry leader in ecommerce, operated 175,000 delivery vans and greater than 37,000 semi-trailers in 2021.
Amazon is No. 1 within the Top 1000, Digital Commerce 360’s database of North America’s largest online retailers based on web sales. It’s also No. 3 within the Global Online Marketplaces database, which ranks the 100 largest global marketplaces by third-party gross merchandise value (GMV). Digital Commerce 360 projects Amazon’s total web sales in 2024 will reach $469.01 billion.
In accordance with the study, although warehouses are situated all around the US, 20% are concentrated in only 10 counties:
- Maricopa, Arizona
- Alameda, California
- Los Angeles, California
- Orange, California
- San Bernardino, California
- Miami-Dade, Florida
- Cook, Illinois
- Cuyahoga, Ohio
- Dallas, Texas
- Harris, Texas
Key findings from the study
- Although the common spike of nitrogen dioxide related to warehouses was 20%, nitrogen dioxide levels near warehouses were even larger when there was greater heavy-duty vehicle activity near these facilities.
- Warehouses with more loading docks and parking spaces attract probably the most traffic. Also they are related to the very best nitrogen dioxide levels.
- Communities with large racial and ethnic minority populations are sometimes situated near warehouses. Thus, they inhale more nitrogen dioxide and other pollutants. The proportion of Hispanic and Asian people living near the most important clusters of warehouses is about 250% higher than the common nationwide.
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