KPCC News In Brief

UCLA researchers release report about air pollution effects on pregnant women, infants

UCLA researchers have released a report about the effects of air pollution on pregnant women and infants. KPCC’s Molly Peterson reports.

Molly Peterson: The school’s Institute for the Environment gives Southern California air pollution a C in its quarterly report card. But the grade’s hardly the point. The researchers’ aim is to focus attention on what air pollution can do to biological development between conception, birth, and the early years of life.

Los Angeles births account for a quarter of all new babies in California each year - about 150,000 people. Adverse health risks the researchers detail for these and other children include low birth weight, and brain, respiratory, and digestive problems.

The report points out that state and federal regulations don’t take these studies into account. They’re still fairly new – most epidemiological and other research that links air pollution to children’s health risks has happened in the last 10 years, some of it at UCLA.

The scientists emphasize that they still don’t know a lot about which compounds in the air pose the greatest threat, or exactly how pollution affects biological health. As you might expect, the report concludes that more research is needed.

Tools

• December 4, 2008 11:11 AM
• Categories: Environment, Health