E-commerce Hubs Worsen Air Pollution New Study Claims

Researchers at George Washington University say air pollution is worsening near e-commerce warehouses due to constant traffic, and warn that people living near them face higher risks of health issues. Analysis of 150,000 such warehouses around the United States show 20 percent higher levels of nitrogen dioxide around them, according to the July 24 study published in Nature Communications, a peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journal. Such warehouses, where a company stores its goods to sell online, generally draw frequent travel for packing, picking up and shipping items, are also “disproportionately located in marginalized and minoritized communities,” according to the study, which used European Space Agency satellites, traffic data and demographic info....