Harmful dust from drying lakes: Preserving Great Salt Lake (USA) water levels decreases ambient dust and racial disparities in population exposure

Abstract

Lake desiccation is a global problem associated with increased human water use and climate change. Like other drying lakes, Utah’s Great Salt Lake (GSL) is producing health-harming dust. We estimate social disparities in dust fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposures based on four policy-relevant water-level scenarios. Dust PM_2.5 exposures would increase as GSL levels drop (e.g., from 24.0 μg m⁻³ to 32.0 μg m⁻³). People of color and those with no high school diploma would experience disproportionately higher exposures (e.g., 28.4 μg m⁻³ for Pacific Islanders vs. 26.0 μg m⁻³ for Whites under very low lake levels). Racial/ethnic disparities would be reduced if GSL water levels rose. If the GSL vanished, racial/ethnic disparities between the highest and lowest exposed groups would be moderate (16.3%). If the GSL stabilized at healthy levels, those disparities would be smaller (7.9%). While all nearby residents face unhealthy dust exposures, findings reveal exposure disparities for socially disadvantaged groups.