Environmental injustice in air quality for digital platform delivery workers in Bogotá, Colombia, 2021

Abstract

Introduction. Air quality is a matter of interest for public health due to its rapid deterioration in low- and middle-income countries and the effects of polluted air on the health of populations.
Objective. Explore the air quality conditions in which digital platform delivery workers carry out their work between the localities of Kennedy and Usaquén in Bogotá, D.C., 2021.
Materials and methods. Parallel convergent mixed study based on four sources of information: 1. Ethnographic observation in five commercial locations in the two localities. 2. Monitoring of PM10 and PM2.5 in 56 delivery routes using a low-cost sensor. 3. Daily logs of the routes that supported the interpretation of the team's data. 4. A semi-structured interview with the router to explore his perception of the dangers during the routes.
Results. Elements were identified between the two study locations that cause environmental injustice among digital platform delivery workers. The routes made by the delivery drivers in the locality of Kennedy registered higher concentrations of PM10 and PM2.5, compared to the values observed in Usaquén; the sources of air pollution identified by the delivery drivers through ethnographic observation and the logbook of the router showed that the worst parameters were located in Kennedy.
Conclusions. It was evidenced that air quality, urban equipment, road infrastructure, mobile sources and geospatial location are elements that mark the presence of environmental injustice for the delivery drivers of digital platforms in the study localities. To reduce this inequity, it is necessary for digital delivery platforms and the district government to implement strategies that reduce the exposure and emission of air pollutants in order to protect the health of digital platform delivery.