A stunning new study published in the New England Journal of Medicine finds that average life expectancy in U.S. cities has increased nearly three years over recent decades, and approximately five months of that increase, or 15 percent, came because of reduced fine particle air pollution. (more…)

One of the most pressing issues facing EPA in the review of the air quality standards for particulate matter (PM) is the need to strengthen the annual average standard for fine particles. (more…)

A new multi-center study reports that inner-city children with asthma may be particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of air pollution. The study focused on 860 children ages 5-12 who lived in low-income areas of Boston, the Bronx, Chicago, Dallas, New York, Seattle and Tucson. The children in the study had moderate to severe asthma, and most were black or Hispanic. The study involved a larger number of kids and a more comprehensive evaluation of respiratory health effects than earlier studies. (more…)

A new analysis relying on data from 98 U.S. communities finds that African-Americans are at greater risk of premature death from short-term ozone exposures than the general population.  Higher risks were also reported for the unemployed and users of public transit.  Previous studies had provided strong evidence of an association between short-term ozone exposures and risk of mortality.  This follow-up study to the National Morbidity, Mortality, and Air Pollution Study (NMMAPS) was intended to explore community-specific factors that might explain the difference in risk observed across communities.  (more…)

A major medical association, the American Thoracic Society, has laid out the case for EPA to strengthen the air quality standard for ozone smog.  (more…)

Long-term exposure to traffic pollution may stunt the lung development of children who live near a major highway, according to a new study by researchers at the University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine.  (more…)

Women living in areas with higher levels of air pollution have a greater risk of developing heart disease and dying from cardiovascular causes, according to a University of Washington study published in the New England Jouranl of Medicine.  The Women’s Health Initiative (WHI)study is one of the largest of its kind involving more than 65,000 women, ages 50 to 79, living in 36 U.S. cities.  (more…)

Check out this critical review of the last ten years of research on the health effects of fine particle pollution by two leading scientists — Dr. C. Arden Pope III of Brigham Young University and Dr. Douglas W. Dockery of Harvard School of Public Health.  (more…)

A study quantified the health benefits of moving from current air quality conditions in California to the level of the new 8-hour California ambient air quality standard for ozone, that is, 0.070 ppm. (more…)

This study examined respiratory effects of ozone in 700 infants living in nonsmoking households in southwestern Virginia.  (more…)