Health Impacts of Air Pollution and Goods Movement

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Health Impacts of Air Pollution and Goods Movement

Air Pollution has been association with the following Health Disparities:

Health Disparity	Citation
The onset of Asthma	McConnell et. al. 2006
Bronchitis	Sunyer et. al. 2006
Lung Growth Dysfunction	Gauderman et. al. 2002, 2007
Lower Birth Weight	USC Children's Health Study 2005; Ritz 2002
Infant Death Syndrome	Ritz et. al. 2006
Premature Death	Pope et. al. 2002
Increased incidences of Cardiovascular Disease and Death	Miller et. al. 2007

Air Pollution has a Disproportionate Impact on People of Color and Low-income Communities

Children of color in California are 3 times more likely than white children to live in census block areas with high-density traffic.1

African American children in LA County are twice as likely to have been diagnosed with asthma, currently suffer from, or undergone an asthma attack within the last year than all other ethnicities.2

African American and Latino children attending LAUSD schools bear a higher lifetime cancer risk from exposure to toxic air contaminants than children from other communities.3

Numerous studies have documented that residents living in communities adjacent to ports and truck-congested freeways who breathe air full of traffic-related pollutants have elevated rates of certain cancers, cardiovascular disease and reduced lung function. For example, adults who live in areas where there is heavy traffic have between 20-34% greater risk of contracting lung cancer.

This state of affairs calls for more rigorous, local, state and national emission controls on ships, trains and trucks and the port and rail facilities that move our goods across Los Angeles and beyond. Such controls should place public health on par with other interests such as the promotion and expansion of international trade. PSR-LA is working with its partners to reduce emissions and improve the quality of air for residents living in southern California.

What does Good Clean Air Policy Look Like?

Considers all sources of pollution in a community (i.e. cumulative impacts) prior to making land use decisions
Calculates the health and environment costs-both human and monetary that are borne by residents when permits are approved for projects
Incorporates mechanisms for community participation into all policy decisions
Utilizes a precautionary, “do no harm” approach

Find out what PSR-LA is doing to Clean up the Air

References

1Gunier et al. J. Expo. Anal Environ. Epidemiology, 2003.

2LA County Health Survey 2005.

3Morello-Frosch et al. Anal American Academy of Political and Social Sciences.2002.