TAILPIPES HAZARDOUS TO HEALTH USC RESEARCHERS FIND LINKS TO ASTHMA, DEATH.Byline: Kerry Cavanaugh Staff Writer Children living near freeways have a greater chance of developing asthma, and people living in communities with airborne particle pollution are more likely to die earlier than those who don't, according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. two studies released today. Led by researchers at the University of Southern California The U.S. News & World Report ranked USC 27th among all universities in the United States in its 2008 ranking of "America's Best Colleges", also designating it as one of the "most selective universities" for admitting 8,634 of the almost 34,000 who applied for freshman admission , the studies suggest that air pollution - particularly from vehicles - may be worse for people's health than previously thought. Children are especially susceptible to air pollution because their bodies are still developing and they breathe more rapidly than adults. By measuring tailpipe tail·pipe n. The pipe through which exhaust gases from an engine are discharged. Also called exhaust pipe. tailpipe Noun a pipe from which exhaust gases are discharged, esp. pollution at the children's homes and analyzing traffic on nearby roadways, researchers in one study found the closer children lived to a freeway, the higher their chance of developing asthma. The study, led by James Gauderman of USC's Keck School of Medicine, demonstrates that breathing vehicle exhaust can play a role in developing asthma, and it joins a growing library of research showing that air pollution can cause asthma. Gauderman said he hopes people will consider the potential health problems from building schools and housing tracts next to freeways. ``Even if you lived in a generally low-polluted area, but lived near a freeway, the risks were increased there as well,'' he said. ``We need to think a little more about that before we place people so close to a source of fresh vehicle exhaust.'' Los Angeles Los Angeles (lôs ăn`jələs, lŏs, ăn`jəlēz'), city (1990 pop. 3,485,398), seat of Los Angeles co., S Calif.; inc. 1850. City Councilwoman Jan Perry, who also sits on the South Coast Air Quality Management District The South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD), formed in 1976, is the air pollution agency responsible mainly for regulating stationary sources of air pollution for most of Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Riverside County, and all of Orange county. , said the study is a wake-up call to planners. ``Family housing should not be encouraged next to freeways. You can use that for light-industrial uses. It doesn't necessarily have to be for housing.'' Bonnie Holmes-Gen, vice president of government relations for the American Lung Association The American Lung Association (ALA) is a non-profit organization that "fights lung disease in all its forms, with special emphasis on asthma, tobacco control and environmental health". of California, said the findings do not definitively prove that air pollution can cause asthma, but they're surprising. ``We expect more research will come out showing the linkage between asthma and air pollution,'' Holmes-Gen said. In a separate study led by USC An abbreviation for U.S. Code. Keck School of Medicine professor Michael Jerrett, researchers studied two decades of data on Los Angeles area residents and found that, as the levels of fine particulate matter increased, so did the risk of death. Jerrett's research also saw a link between particulate-matter levels and death from heart attack and lung cancer lung cancer, cancer that originates in the tissues of the lungs. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer death in the United States in both men and women. Like other cancers, lung cancer occurs after repeated insults to the genetic material of the cell. . Researchers plan to conduct a similar study in New York City New York City: see New York, city. New York City City (pop., 2000: 8,008,278), southeastern New York, at the mouth of the Hudson River. The largest city in the U.S. to see if they find a similar trend. Fine particulate matter is created from vehicles' exhaust, including diesel exhaust, and from fires and industrial pollution. It's made up a microscopic bits of acids, chemicals, metals, dusts and allergens that can reach deep into the lungs and enter the bloodstream. Kerry Cavanaugh, (818) 713-3746 kerry.cavanaugh(at)dailynews.com |
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