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Air Pollution and Health Millions of Californians live in areas that violate current health standards for smog. UCLA researchers have found that people (like those in the Mira Loma, Glen Avon, Pedley areas) living in these areas suffer about the same lung damage as a person that is a pack-a-day cigarette smoker. The World Health Organization estimates that the Riverside-San Bernardino area has one of the worst small particulate air pollution problems in the world, after cities such as Jakarta, Indonesia; Bangkok, Thailand; and Calcutta, India. Scientists have recently found that even lower levels of smog - levels until now, considered ‘safe" under federal law - can reduce lung function. Air pollution is not good for anyone. It is not good for your lungs to be inhaling smog or fine particles no matter how healthy you are. Eight studies of air pollution in US cities have shown that particulate matter in our air is presently killing about 60,000 Americans each year. In other words, any increase in this pollution, kills someone. Mere compliance with federal standards does not protect the public’s health. For up to 20% of the population the effects are more severe. Some people, called "responders" by medical researchers, are even more vulnerable to the ill effects of smog, losing lung function more rapidly than other healthy adults. Who are these people? They are people who have been exposed to chemicals (like the Stringfellow Acid Pits) and those in areas of prolonged smog episodes and who suffer from other illnesses. For children, asthmatics, the elderly, those who exercise outdoors or are exposed to smog for long periods of time, air pollution poses an immediate and urgent threat to their health. For the elderly two characteristics make them more vulnerable to health problems caused by pollution. They tends to have a more difficult time clearing particles from their lungs, allowing the pollutants to irritate the lungs for longer periods of time. And, air pollution can compromise the immune systems of elderly people, leaving them more susceptible to illness. Children are particularly vulnerable to smog. They spend more time outside; engage in more rigorous activities; and inhale more pollutants per pound of body weight than adults. FACTS:
After reviewing 270 peer-reviewed health studies, the EPA has concluded that the evidence was clear: current standards for smog, particulate matter (dust) and fine particles are not tough enough to protect human health. As a result tough new standards are being proposed to Congress to better safeguard the American people.
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