Another Reason Not to Raise Your Kids by the Freeway
Jan 28th, 2007 at 9:28 am by PSoTD
Because it’s not good for their lungs.
Growing up near a freeway stunts a child’s breathing capacity for a lifetime, significantly increasing the risk of serious lung and heart diseases later in life, according to researchers who monitored thousands of Southern California children for up to eight years.
The landmark study, led by a team of University of Southern California scientists and released Thursday, delivers a sobering answer to a long-standing question about the health effects of being raised near a busy roadway where air is chronically polluted.
These children not only are more likely to develop asthma, but their lung development can be permanently cut short, increasing their odds of having a heart attack or a life-threatening respiratory condition, starting as early as their 50s.
“It’s a big risk factor,” said James Gauderman, the author and principal investigator of the study by researchers at USC’s Keck School of Medicine.
“If you’ve got less lung capacity and you get hit with the flu or pneumonia, you’ve got less reserve to fall back on,” Gauderman said.
The findings carry profound policy implications nationwide for agencies that monitor and regulate air pollution, for locally elected officials who determine where to place new roads and housing tracts, and for education officials who buy property for new schools, California air quality regulators said Thursday.
“This is a pretty significant finding. It strengthens the information we need for some of our control programs,” said Richard Bode, chief of the health and exposure branch of the state Air Resources Board.
They define “near a freeway” as within
a mile.
That means a lot of people are being affected.