Los Angeles Study
Finds Higher Pollution Death Risk
September 28, 2005 — By Kevin Krolicki, Reuters
LOS ANGELES — The risk of dying from
air pollution in parts of traffic-clogged Los Angeles appears sharply
higher than previously believed, according to a study comparing the
risks of living in affluent, beachfront neighborhoods to the hazy and
fast-growing inland area.
The study was a first to attempt to look at how chronic health problems
are linked to the degree of pollution across the neighborhoods of a
major U.S. city, lead author, Michael Jerrett said.
The study, which will be published in the November issue of
Epidemiology, found the risk of death rose by 11 to 17 percent from the
cleanest parts of Los Angeles to the most polluted areas of Riverside
and San Bernardino counties to the east.
The risk of fatal heart disease rose by between 25 percent to 39 percent
as the concentration of fine particles in the neighborhood's air rose by
a measure of 10 micrograms per cubic meter of air, the study showed.
Data from monitoring sites within Los Angeles show that the
concentration of such airborne particles -- tiny specks of solids and
droplets of acids and other chemicals -- rises by almost 20 micrograms
per cubic meter as commuters head east from L.A.'s wealthier, westside
neighborhoods.
Los Angeles, infamous for its smog and traffic congestion, is ringed by
mountains that help trap pollution in a basin that is home to over 13
million people.
Previous research has concentrated on how the health risks from
pollution differ from one city to the next, broad measurements that have
been used to set air quality standards, said Jerrett, a professor at
USC's Keck School of Medicine.
Scientists believe the smallest particles of pollution pose the greatest
health risk since they sink deep into the lungs and enter the blood,
causing inflammation and a thickening of artery walls that can prompt
heart attacks and strokes.
"It's what we can't see that is most dangerous to us," Jerrett said.
The study, based on an analysis of data on almost 23,000 people tracked
by the American Cancer Society, also found that the risk of death from
diabetes almost doubled in the more polluted areas of Southern
California.
"I think that's something we need to investigate further," Jerrett said.
A separate study by USC researchers, also published in the same medical
journal, found that children living close to freeways in Southern
California had a far higher risk of developing asthma. "It adds to a
growing body of literature that air pollution can cause asthma," the
study's lead author, James Gauderman said.
Funded by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, a
federal agency, the study found that children living in homes with a
higher concentration of nitrogen dioxide -- a pollutant found in car
exhaust -- had an 83 percent higher chance of developing asthma.
"We see that pollution is a problem from the cradle to the grave," said
Jerrett.
Source: Reuters |