Friday, May 01, 2009

New federal study: traffic pollution kills people with respiratory problems

There’s a new study in the current issue of Environmental Health Perspectives (published by a branch of the federal Department of Health and Human Services) which is perhaps worth a gander. See link below.

Basically, scientists found increased death among people with respiratory disease who were exposed to traffic-related nitrogen dioxide pollution in Toronto.

This is further evidence that current air quality standards for this pollutant need to be made tougher. The current standard was set in 1971 (!)

The US EPA reported last year that exposure to nitrogen dioxide – even at levels below current standards – increased the risk of hospital admissions.

The agency is under a court order to review the current national air standards for nitrogen dioxide and propose its results by June 26.

http://www.ehponline.org/docs/2009/11533/abstract.html

4 comments:

Kent Tweedy said...

Well, that explains a lot!

I feel pretty ill just reading this.

Les Junk said...

Wonder if this goes for tractors, too.

Sadie Keffer said...

That reminds me, I have to go to a funeral.

Christian said...

There are so many studies done (by top researchers and top universities) on how traffic pollution poisons us. Yet so many people seem still completely ignorant about the problem, and how it effects their health.