Traffic Pollution 'Hot Spots' Harm Public Health

Living near a busy roadway can damage your health

Arturo lives near a busy thoroughfare in Queens, New York, where trucks and cars whiz by at top speed. He knows well the dangers of crossing traffic-choked streets. But he also sees soot accumulating on his windowsill and worries about his lungs.

Sara is especially uneasy about idling cars along the busy street where she and her worries about her two young children live.

Another mother, Emily, says her pet peeve is drivers who sit in their vehicles with their motors on, belching out toxic fumes that her son and other kids are forced to breathe. She is also concerned about the global warming pollution idling vehicles spew.

Living near a busy roadway ups the health risks

Their stories, like the dozens of others we received, reflect the growing concerns of many residents living near heavily trafficked streets, whether in a dense city or sprawling metropolis. What Arturo and others know viscerally, science now clearly shows: that close exposure to tailpipe pollution is indeed a problem.

Scientists have long known that air pollution from trucks and cars is bad for your health. What's new is that over the last decade, scientists have looked more closely at street-level exposure and found a high-risk zone of about 500 to 1500 feet.
 
A range of public health studies now show that air pollution levels are greater near roadways than air monitors typically show. Federal regulations are based on average concentrations of air pollution measured city-wide or regionally but do not reflect local pollution "hot spots" like heavily traveled roadways.

The latest science also points to more severe health risks in localized "hot spots" than air pollution measurements would suggest. Living within the 500-1500-foot range of a heavily trafficked road puts you at much greater risk than someone living farther away. The soot and fumes from cars, trucks and buses are linked to asthma, lung and heart disease and cancer. 

For details on the science, see:

• The risk zone: Overview of studies that measure the street-level air pollutant exposures
• Increased health risks: Overview of studies that document the impaired health of people living close to roads 

Tailpipes are big culprit in unhealthy global warming pollution

On top of the direct health effects, transportation is the fastest-growing source of heat-trapping pollution. What spews from tailpipes, including cars and trucks, accounts for about 30 percent of greenhouse gas pollution. For the average, car-owning American, driving is in the top two daily pollution-causing activities. (More on cars and how you can fight global warming.)

How will a warming world affect our health? For one, it means more hot days and more ripe conditions for ozone-smog formation. Exposure to smog can do serious damage to our lungs and respiratory systems. Inflammation and irritation can cause shortness of breath, throat irritation, chest pains and coughing and lead to asthma attacks, hospital admissions and emergency room visits. (More on the health dangers in a warmer world.)

We hope stories like Arturo's about the perils of traffic are on their way out. But in the meantime, we'd like to hear from you, too. Do your kids go to school or play near a congested road? Tell us about your encounter with traffic.

Posted: 04-Sep-2008; Updated: 30-Oct-2008