Air quality and health implications of electrifying heavy-duty vehicles assessed at equity-relevant neighborhood-scales

Heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) disproportionately contribute to the creation of air pollutants and emission of greenhouse gases – with marginalized populations unequally burdened by the impacts of each. Shifting to non-emitting technologies, like electric HDVs (eHDVs) is underway, however, the associated air quality and health implications have not been resolved at equity-relevant scales. Here, we use a neighborhood-scale (~1km) air quality model to evaluate air pollution, public health, and equity implications of a 30% transition of predominantly diesel HDVs to eHDVs over the region surrounding North America’s largest freight hub, Chicago, Illinois. We find decreases in NO2 and PM2.5 but O3 increases, particularly in urban settings. NO2 and PM2.5 decreases reduce premature deaths/yr by ~580 and ~70, respectively, while O3 increases add ~50 deaths/yr. We find the largest pollutant and health benefits in “least White” communities, highlighting the potential for eHDVs to reduce air pollution and health burdens, especially in marginalized communities.