Ethnic minority immigrants in England are exposed to significantly higher levels of air pollution than natives and immigrants from western countries, finds a new report led by UCL researchers.
The report also found that all immigrants in England are exposed to substantially higher levels of pollution than in Germany.
For the paper, published in Social Forces, researchers compared levels of pollution exposure - the pollution disadvantage - of immigrants in England to the pollution disadvantage in Germany, finding that all immigrants in both countries are exposed to higher levels of air pollution than natives in both countries.
However, the immigrant disadvantage in England is three times higher than in Germany. On average, all immigrants in England are exposed to 6.9μg/m3 higher levels of NO2, roughly 40% above the average for native British households.
Out of all immigrant groups, those in England from Bangladesh, the Caribbean and across Africa, and those in Germany from Turkey, are exposed to more pollution than those from western countries. For example, immigrants in England from Bangladesh are exposed to 15.4μg/m3 higher levels of NO2 than the native British, which is roughly twice the size of the overall immigrant disadvantage, and more than five times the average disadvantage of western immigrants (2.7μg/m3). In Germany, the pollution disadvantage for Turkish immigrants is roughly double the size of the disadvantage for immigrants from western countries.
All immigrant groups in both countries also face a 'pollution penalty' when they move. This means that even when comparing immigrant and native households who start in similarly highly polluted areas, immigrant households are far less likely to move to an area with lower pollution levels. On average, a non-immigrant household improves its air quality roughly twice as much as an immigrant household with each move. This penalty is more pronounced in England, with ethnic minority immigrants in both countries faring worse.
Lead author Dr Tobias Rüttenauer (IOE, UCL's Faculty of Education & Society) said: "We compared England to Germany because these two countries have different immigration histories, with England's being strongly rooted in colonial history and migration patterns, and with different urban structures.
"Whilst in both countries we found ethnic minority immigrant households are consistently exposed to higher levels of air pollution than native households, we didn't expect to see such a big gap in exposure levels for immigrant households between the two countries. The disadvantage is both substantial in scale and relevant for public health. Based on a back-of-the-envelope calculation separate to this research paper, we would translate this disadvantage into a roughly 6% higher mortality risk for immigrants in England.
"In Germany, the disadvantage is smaller, amounting to approximately one-third of the level observed in England. It's hard to say exactly why there is such a difference without more research, although higher levels of economic inequality, ethnic residential segregation and the urban-rural divide in England could play a role."
The researchers found that even when factors including socio-economic background and income were considered, the pollution disadvantage remained in both England and Germany, with immigrants of all income levels being more likely to stay living closer to city centres.
The researchers acknowledge that immigrants may choose to live in neighbourhoods where there is a larger proportion of residents from the same country or area. However, they found little direct evidence of preferences in living with other immigrants contributing to the pollution penalty.
Dr Rüttenauer continued: "Although we didn't directly find enough evidence on this preference, there may be other indirect factors at play. For instance, immigrants may try to avoid racism and other forms of discrimination by avoiding less densely populated, and therefore less polluted areas. Particularly in England, immigrants and ethnic minorities are overrepresented in urban areas, where around 69% of immigrants live in urban areas compared to 28% of natives.
"In Germany, immigrants also face barriers to accessing rural, less polluted regions. However, medium-sized cities and suburban regions seem to buffer the pollution disadvantage to some extent."
The researchers used data from the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS) for England and the German Socio-Economic Panel (GSOEP) for Germany, which were linked to air pollution estimates for NO2, PM2.5 and SO2 at neighbourhood levels. Pollution levels before and after a household's relocation were compared and analysed to track residential migration patterns and their impact on air pollution exposure.
The researchers say further research is needed to fully understand the reasons behind the pollution penalty in order to support immigrant households in both countries to access cleaner living environments.
Dr Rüttenauer added: "Factors including housing discrimination by landlords and estate agents could play a role in preventing immigrant households from accessing less polluted areas. Equally important could be social networks and the need to be near those of the same or a similar culture."
The research was supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation).
