Air quality, health and equity implications of electrifying heavy-duty vehicles

Heavy-duty vehicles (HDVs) disproportionately contribute to air pollutants and greenhouse gases, with marginalized populations unequally burdened. We use a neighborhood-scale (~1 km) air quality model to evaluate air pollution, public health, and equity implications of a 30% transition of predominantly diesel HDVs to electric HDVs (eHDVs) around the Chicago, IL freight hub. We find decreases in nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) but increases in ozone (O3), particularly in urban settings. Over the simulation domain, NO2 and PM2.5 reductions translate to approximately 590 (95% CI 150–900) and 70 (95% CI 20–110) avoided premature deaths per year, respectively, while O3 increases add about 50 (95% CI 30–110) deaths per year. The largest pollutant and health benefits are within communities with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic/Latino residents, indicating potential for eHDVs to reduce disproportionate and unjust air pollution and associated health burdens within historically marginalized populations.