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Residential wood combustion (RWC) is a primary heating fuel in just 2% of US homes. However, the 2023 release of the US Environmental Protection Agency’s National Emissions Inventory (NEI) found that RWC contributes ~28% of total wintertime fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) emissions, suggesting that ambient PM_2.5concentrations could be substantially reduced if RWC were curtailed. Despite its contribution to PM_2.5emissions, an assessment of the air quality, health, and distributional impacts of RWC using the updated NEI has not been performed. Here, we use a high-resolution (4 kilometers) air quality model and the updated NEI to evaluate wintertime RWC impacts over the contiguous United States. We find that RWC contributes 2.43 micrograms per cubic meter (21.9%) of winter population-weighted mean PM_2.5concentrations, leading to ~8600 (confidence interval: 6500 to 9600) premature deaths annually. Moreover, nonwhite communities are disproportionately affected by RWC-related PM_2.5and associated mortality, especially in urban areas. We suggest that policies targeting RWC could substantially reduce air pollution, improve health, and address distributional disparities. 

Abstract Electric vehicle adoption strategies have the potential to reduce greenhouse gas and air pollutant emissions. However, the effectiveness of this transition may depend on which vehicles are electrified, and where. To assess the efficacy of different modes of transportation electrification, we apply a watts-to-wheel analysis framework that accounts for upstream emission increases from battery charging and downstream reductions in tailpipe emissions. Using the WRF-CMAQ chemical transport model at ∼1 km²resolution, we compare the greenhouse gas, air quality, and public health impacts of electrifying 30% of light-duty vehicles (eLDVs) versus 30% of heavy-duty vehicles (eHDVs) across a U.S. Midwestern domain. Both electrification scenarios achieve net reductions in CO₂emissions despite increased emissions from electricity generation units, with greater total reductions from eLDVs (∼7 Mt CO₂/year, −4.5%) than eHDVs (∼1.6 Mt CO₂/year, −1.1%). However, air quality benefits are greater in the eHDV scenario, where cumulative reductions in health-harming air pollutants such as nitrogen dioxide (NO₂) and elemental carbon (EC) exceed those in the eLDV scenario. Both scenarios show modest increases in daily 8 h average ozone (MDA8 O₃), with disbenefits largest in the eHDV scenario. Estimated health benefits of the eHDV scenario exceed those of the eLDV scenario, with 70 (50) more avoided premature deaths annually from reduced NO₂(EC), offset by 50 additional deaths from MDA8 O₃increases. In both scenarios, the largest health benefits occur in communities with higher proportions of Black and Hispanic residents. However, long-standing relative exposure disparities persist. On a per-vehicle basis, we find that electrifying one HDV yields nearly 5× more CO₂reduction-based economic benefits and 23× more NO₂reduction-based economic health benefits than a single eLDV. Our results demonstrate that multi-modal and multi-pollutant assessments are critical for informing more effective and equitable decarbonization and air pollutant remediation strategies.