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Spirometers introduced with a "scaling factor" to "correct" for race.

1974

SRA
HISS
MED

At this time, spirometers, which measure how much air a person is able to breathe into their lungs, apply a "corrective" factor of 10%-15% for Black people and 4%-6% for Asian people.

This technology continues to reflect the false belief that racial differences in lung capacity are inherent, rather than created by social and environmental factors.

Braun (2015) writes: "Rather than a fluid, historically contingent system of classification, researchers treated race as a stable category, uncomplicated by social class, sex, or geographical context."