The temporary closure of a steel mill in the Utah Valley during a labor dispute in the late 1980’s provided a unique opportunity to study the health of residents during period the mill was closed, compared to before and after the closure.
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Blood pressure is a well-established risk factor for cardiovascular disease and deaths.
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Autopsies of lungs from non-smoking female residents of Mexico City reveal that fine particle air pollutants overwhelm the lungs’ clearance mechanisms and are retained in lung tissue.
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Decreased heart rate variability is an indicator of the diminished ability of the heart to respond to stress, and is a risk factor for mortality from cardiovascular disease.
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Scientists have found that inhalation of urban particles will increase the blood levels of endothelins, potent vasoconstrictors which can increase blood pressure and contribute to congestive heart failure.
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This study examined the short-term association between a variety of air pollutants and mortality among patients with congestive heart failure in Seoul, Korea.
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A debate has raged in the public policy arena about whether to use the short-term or the long-term epidemiological studies to estimate the risks of premature mortality attributable to particulate air pollution.
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A study of California teenagers has found that PM10 air pollution retards lung function growth as much as smoking.

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“Part of the explanation for the persistent epidemiological findings of associations between mortality and morbidity with relatively modest ambient exposures to airborne particles may be that some people are much more susceptible to particle-induced responses than others,” write Professor Dale Hattis of Clark University, and coauthors, in a recent article in the journal Risk Analysis.
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Autopsies of lungs from non-smoking female residents of Mexico City reveal that fine particle air pollutants overwhelm the lung’ clearance mechanisms and are retained in lung tissue. Fine particle air pollutants are implicated in adverse health effects, including cardiopulmonary mortality.
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