A couple of new findings tell an unsettling story about the health effects of living near freeways–and that “near” is a lot farther away than you might think.
Finding #1: Pregnant women living near highways or busy roads are more than twice as likely give birth “very preterm” at 30 or fewer weeks. They are also 30 percent more likely to give birth to plain old “preterm” at 31 to 37 weeks. The mechanism isn’t clear, but it could involve oxidative damage to the child’s DNA and other stuff that sounds really bad. The lead scientist for this study suggests the culprits might be horrible airborne compounds called “polycyclic aromatics” that are a component of auto pollution.
This is addition, of course, to asthma and cancer and heart disease all the other great stuff–including generally shortened life spans–that traffic pollution has been shown to do to the human body.
Finding #2: Living “close” to a freeway means being right next to it, right–like overlooking it pressed up against one of those ugly noise walls? Sadly, no. Researchers at UCLA have found that a large freeway’s pollution plume extends as much as a mile and a half from the roadway–in this case, I-10. “This distance is 10 times greater than previously measured daytime pollutant impacts from roadways and has significant exposure implications.” Those nasty carcinogenic ultrafine particles–not to mention polycylic aromatics–don’t obey the nicities of staying in those close to the roadway. No, the call is coming from inside the house for plenty of rich people in Santa Monica and other communities around the country. Even if you’d never be one of those poor unhealthy schlubs who lives next to a freeway — practically speaking, you’re probably already one of those poor unhealthy schlubs who lives next to a freeway.
Says one of the researchers: “The study raises more questions about the significant health outcomes caused or exacerbated by freeway traffic.” Yeah, that sounds about right.
Research like this really highlights theimportance of diversifying away from auto travel in our cities, and doing so on the double. It’s lunacy to poison densely populated areas in two- and three-mile wide swaths.
The answers aren’t even all that complicated. Electric cars will help, and this another argument for creating incentives for consumers to migrate over to them, if and when they’re ready for the big time. Investing in electrified freight rail (”Steel Interstate” style) to start getting more trucks off the road would be another important element. Also, congestion pricing in cities and a dedication of resources to expanding and improving rail and transit on a scale similar to China and Spain–which is to say “huge.”
Now, just go do it kthxbai.
